As consumers fume over skyrocketing prices for gasoline and other commodities, congressional Democrats on Wednesday called executives from big oil companies on the carpet to explain why they appear to be making unseemly fat profits in the face of an international crisis.
The House hearing was in part a response to Republicans’ campaign to blame Democrats for inflation, now running at a 40-year high and rising.
Oil executives Wednesday insisted that market forces set fuel prices, while Republican lawmakers attacked President Biden and what they called his anti-fossil fuel policies for creating supply shortfalls leading to higher prices at the pumps.
But in both parties, the blaming amounts to little more than political rhetoric and jawboning because neither side is prepared to push for the kind of action that Washington has sometimes resorted to in wartime emergencies.
Delivery drivers are trying to pressure Amazon to pay more to its Flex program drivers to accommodate surging gas prices.
Around 50 delivery and rideshare drivers, including drivers for the Flex delivery program, gathered to protest outside an Amazon warehouse near Los Angeles on Wednesday, CNBC reported.
Gas prices have spiked since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine at the end of February, and the price of gas had already been rising in the months running up to the invasion. The national average price for gas was $4.27 a gallon as of Thursday, according to the American Automobile Association Gas Prices, an increase of about 75 cents from a month earlier.
You may think inflation and the war in Ukraine are what’s driving up gas prices this spring – and yes, they are – but they aren’t the only forces at play. One environmental regulation is also causing gas prices to rise, and it happens every year as the seasons change.
The Environmental Protection Agency requires a different blend of gasoline to be sold in the summer months than in the winter months.
Gas prices remain high leaving some looking for ways to lessen the financial burden of filling up their gas tanks.
The pain at the pump has some people wondering if it may be time to once again return to a work from home model.
“If we look at the polling data, it’s quite clear that many people still want to work from home,” said the University of Texas at Dallas professor emeritus Doug Kiel. “The latest data that I have, show that about 60% of people polled prefer to work from home now.”
The Automobile Club of Southern California this week issued a warning about a possible spike in gasoline theft as prices skyrocket to record highs daily.
The average price per gallon of regular in California climbed to a record $5.72 Friday — jumping up from $5.07 just a week ago, according to AAA.
In the Los Angeles- Long Beach area, gas prices reached a record $5.80 per gallon. Some area gas stations are even charging over $7 for a gallon of gas.
These high prices are triggering concerns over gas theft.
A sign warns consumers on the avaliability of gasoline at a RaceTrac gas station on May 11, 2021, in Smyrna, Georgia. (Photo: Elijah Nouvelage | AFP | Getty Images)
Yesterday, its average US price climbed to over $3/gallon for the first time since 2014. That’s in part because of last week’s ransomware attack on one of the US’s largest fuel pipelines. Operators just began to fully restore service to the pipeline that supplies 45% of fuel to the East Coast. But the disruptions stoked fears of gas supply shortages. And prompted people to panic buy at the pump. (As if we didn’t learn our lesson over toilet paper.) Now, gov officials are reminding people to stop hoarding and not store gas in plastic bags. Florida, Georgia, Virginia, and North Carolina have declared states of emergency – allowing state governments to regulate prices. Meanwhile, President Biden signed an executive order to try to beef up the US’s digital defenses.
Everything else. Yesterday, a Labor Department report confirmed what you might have noticed: prices for clothes, food, cars, insurance, and housing have gone up by over 4% – the fastest rate since 2008. Things like greater demand, supply disruptions, understaffed companies, and rising fuel costs have contributed to your wallet’s pain. Now, Americans are paying more for basic goods and it’s got many (like the stock market) wondering how long this will last. But the Feds are saying, ‘This is likely all temporary.’
The national average for a gallon of gas jumped above $3 on Wednesday for the first time since 2014, as much of the crucial Colonial Pipeline remains offline.
Amid fears of a supply shortage, consumers in Southeastern states are heading to the pump, creating long lines and in some cases wiping fuel stations dry.
On average, Americans are now paying $3.008 for a gallon of gas, up from $2.985 on Tuesday and $2.927 one week ago.
Just days before the Thanksgiving travel season, North Texans are enjoying some of the lowest gas prices in a while.
The state average is currently $2.37 a gallon for regular unleaded, seven cents lower than last week. Drivers in the Dallas area will pay even less at $2.27 per gallon and $2.26 in Fort Worth.
In this Nov. 21, 2007 file photo, Shell Oil Company’s Deer Park refinery and petrochemical facility is shown in the background as vehicles travel along Highway 225 in Deer Park, TX (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)
CAMARILLO, CA — The average national price of a regular gallon of gasoline has dropped 4 cents in the last two weeks to $2.50.
Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said Sunday that falling oil prices and strong production at U.S. refineries led to lower numbers at the pump. The drop during the two-week period ended Friday comes despite labor strikes at some refineries.
Los Angeles had the most expensive gas among cities surveyed in the Lower 48 states at $3.29. Charleston, South Carolina, had the cheapest at $2.11.
The average national price for midgrade gas was $2.71 and $2.87 for premium. Diesel stands at $2.97, down 5 cents.
"It always amazes me to think that every house on every street is full of so many stories; so many triumphs and tragedies, and all we see are yards and driveways." - Glenn Close
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