Gas Prices Have Quietly Jumped 20 Cents In The Last Month
Nick Pope on August 25, 2023
The national average price of gasoline per gallon is up 20 cents compared to one month ago, according to data from AAA.
The national average price that Americans pay at the pump currently sits at about $3.83, about 20 cents higher than the approximately $3.63 average price Americans paid one month ago, according to AAA data. The surging prices mark the highest national average since October 2022, according to AAA.
While the national average is currently high, it is still 5 cents lower than it was around this time in August 2022, when Americans paid an average of about $3.88 per gallon at the pump, according to AAA. That price marked a decline from an all-time high of $5.01 per gallon in June 2022.
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On Aug. 27, 2020, about four months before President Joe Biden took office, the national average per gallon price of gasoline hovered at around $2.22, according to AAA.
The rising prices may jump further as planned OPEC+ oil production cuts, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, take hold in global markets, as expected by the International Energy Agency. Summer temperatures also contribute to increased energy demand, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Last summer’s price spike posed a major political problem for Biden, as Republicans have blasted his administration’s green energy policies while Americans are left to absorb their financial impacts. Biden looks to be relying heavily on “Bidenomics” as a campaign pitch as the 2024 race heats up, a strategy which resurgent energy prices could complicate as election day approaches.
Biden chose to release tens of millions of barrels of oil from the strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) over the course of 2022 to rein in spiking gas prices ahead of that year’s midterm elections. The SPR, which is generally meant to serve as a supply in the event of a national emergency, could take “decades” to refill to peak levels after Biden’s decided to utilize its supply.
The Biden administration opted to delay replenishing the SPR earlier in August, pointing to elevated oil prices and unfavorable market conditions. Jumping oil prices could exacerbate inflationary pressure that continues to harass the American economy, as rising energy prices typically reverberate through other sectors by making transportation and production processes more expensive, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The White House did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
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