Gas prices climb to new high, putting Biden in a fresh bind

[brooklynite]

Source: Washington Post

President Biden’s efforts to blunt rising prices at the pump are proving no match for the market forces that have sent the price of gas surging to a new high.

The average price for a gallon of gas nationwide hit $4.37 on Tuesday, marking the highest price AAA has recorded since it started keeping track in 2000. And in California, it is a $1.54 higher than even that. This is not the most expensive gas on record when adjusted for inflation, but the increase comes despite the fact that Biden ordered the flow of a million barrels per day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve a little over a month ago. The administration’s move to allow more ethanol into the nation’s fuel supply hasn’t brought much relief to consumers, either.

The sticker shock comes as Biden on Tuesday is expected to outline his latest plan to reduce the price pressures throughout the economy that have badly damaging his popularity. Biden will try to shift blame for the nation’s economic challenges to Republicans, pointing to Sen. Rick Scott’s (R-Fla.) plan, released earlier this year, for a minimum federal income tax. About half of Americans do not pay federal income taxes because they do not earn enough.

The remarks precede what is likely to be more tough news for the White House when the federal government reveals its newest inflation data midweek.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/05/10/gas-prices-are-up-again-putting-biden-fresh-bind/

[ck4829]

1. Shell profits nearly triple as oil prices surge

Energy giant Shell has reported its highest ever quarterly profits as oil and gas prices surge around the world.

Shell made $9.13bn (£7.3bn) in the first three months of the year, nearly triple its $3.2bn profit it announced for the same period last year.

But the firm said pulling out of Russian oil and gas due to the Ukraine conflict had cost it $3.9bn (£3.1bn).

On Tuesday, rival BP also reported a sharp rise in profit, but the UK has so far ruled out a windfall tax.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-61330552

[Botany]

6. Beat me to it

Shell profits nearly triple as oil prices surge

And this is Biden's fault how?

[Rebl2]

13. Exactly

He, as well as other democrats, needs to call out oil companies for gouging consumers everyday!

[Botany]

21. Funny on how the price of a barrel of oil has dropped but gas prices have contiued to go up.

And the price gouging and the profits for many companies 9not just oil companies) has been
on and on. It is almost like the want to have high inflation in order to blame it on President Biden.

[Rebl2]

25. I think

you are correct about republicans wanting high inflation so they can blame President Biden for it. I also think the price for a barrel of oil has gone up again. I think the countries that supply oil to us absolutely do not like Biden and they are willing to raise the price to hurt him and us. Punishment for electing Biden and for not putting the criminal trump back in office.

[Botany]

26. If the Supreme Court hadn't installed w bush in 2000 and Al Gore had rightfully been installed ...

... as POTUS and or Reagan hadn't cut a deal with the Iranians to hold the hostages until after
the election and Carter had gotten a 2nd term we could have long ago told the Saudis to take
their oil and shove it.

[DENVERPOPS]

38. Agree

The United Fascist Corporations of America have declared all out war on Dems and Biden.

The Corporations are directly causing the massive overall inflation and increased gas prices, so the American people will suffer and blame it on Biden, his presidency, and his administration.......AND pocketing outrageous, record profits at the same time........

It is the Wild Wild West and Gilded Age all rolled into one!

United Fascist Corporations of America........coming soon to your country.......And, they may not have to wait until 2024, it may arrive in 2022 with the mid-term elections...........

The Republicans and corporations aim to obliterate Democracy, and completely destroy the Constitution for certain this time around.

[moose65]

28. Yep. Oil has dropped a bit lately.

Right now, West Texas Intermediate Crude is trading at about $102.50 per barrel. On March 8 it was 123.70. There seems to be little correlation between oil prices and gas prices!

Just for comparison - in March of 2008 the price of a barrel of oil peaked at $140 per barrel. That would be almost $190 today. Gas prices didn't peak until July of 2008, though. I wonder if that 4-month delay is still valid today.

While I've been typing this comment, the oil price has dropped to $101.70

[oioioi]

46. Gasoline Futures vs Crude Oil

[jimfields33]

2. I hope blaming the republicans for this works!

[moose65]

27. Me too, but I doubt it

Nothing ever seems to stick to them!

I wish just one reporter, ANY reporter, would ask some Republican politician what THEY plan to do to bring down gas prices.

[Turbineguy]

3. Yes, because there only one thing you can do.

When prices go up, vote for republicans, so they'll go up more.

[Ferrets are Cool]

4. Anyone who believes that this is Bidens problem is either or magat or an idiot...

and since magats are idiots, that narrows it down some.
This is all being caused by FUCKING CORPORATIONS AND THEIR GREED.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

10. It is Biden's problem. Since I'm not a MAGAt, I must be an idiot. See if this helps:

[sarisataka]

18. It's Biden's problem because he sits in the chair.

Rightly or wrongly (wrongly) whoever is President gets blame/credit for the price of gas.

[The Mouth]

32. And pretty much everything else as far as the economy goes

There is little a President can do except symbolically on most of the economic factors. The Biden administration has symbolically canceled pipelines (and yes, we all know that the oil would only go from Canada to export, it doesn't matter), and is anti-fossil fuel and pro renewables - sane and makes sense and does *NO* good at all in the places we need to win.

Inflation, a hurting market, high gas prices, President Biden *will* get the blame, even if every oil company octuples their profits; just as if the market was UP 4000 points instead of down that much, and gas at a reasonable price like $2 or $3 dollars he'd be getting the credit and riding a wave of good feelings (well, except for the people who HATE the idea of cheap gas.)

[Ferrets are Cool]

47. WE can agree to disagree

It is NOT a problem caused by the President. It IS a problem caused by greedy CEO's. Yes, he can be blamed for it, but not by me or not by any reasonable, intelligent person.

[Zeitghost]

60. It may not be his fault

But it has definitely become his problem.

[Marthe48]

5. I wish I wouldn't waited

I had a half tank, and put off getting it when it was 3.89/gal Now it's 4.25/gal, rose 2 times since last week. I thought the local stations were gouging because of Mother's Day. If they were, with no consequences, nothing will stop them from raising it even more.

r president hoover promised "a chicken in every pot and 2 cars in every garage." Well, there's a shortage of chickens, so there's nothing in the pot, and if there are 2 cars in every garage, it's because we can't afford to drive the damn things. r's have led us down the garden path to this point. They didn't care about the poor in 1928 and they don't care about the poor in 2022.

[IronLionZion]

7. Yet somehow oil company stock prices are riding high

how can that be?

[turbinetree]

8. Hey Washington Post since you just won an award, maybe you should have said in the headline

"Oil Companies are Price Gouging the Consumers to make More Profits" try that and see what happens.....JFC you are laying this at Bidens feet......

Or better yet you could have said the Saudis don't support democracies and support fascist BS like Russia , and there "guy" lost an US election .....try that and see what happens.....JFC you are laying this at Bidens feet......

[Rebl2]

14. That would

be good topic for them to go after.

[turbinetree]

17. You would think so.....

since the blame lays squarely on others feet....but that is to easy....

[JohnSJ]

9. "Proving no match for market forces"? Bullshit. Oil prices are controlled by the cartel, and the

futures market.

I suggest reading the comments to this piece. They are more perceptive than the authors of the article

[Lonestarblue]

11. We need a citizen strike against buying gasoline for a week.

If fewer people are buying, the price of gas will miraculously come down. US companies are refusing to raise production, as they easily could, to try to get greater concessions and fewer regulations from the government. I also read recently that Saudi Arabia has agreed to raise production only slightly, most likely because MBS is still listening to Trump and Kushner. The fact that he gave Kushner a few billion to start an investment fund when he has zero experience creating and managing such a fund seems more like a bribe than a wise investment decision. MBS is obviously staying loyal to Trump.

We need huge investments in alternative energy yesterday. The sun provides its energy for solar panels free of charge. We also need huge investments in public transportation. Fossil fuel companies have stymied such investments for decades. Compared with most areas in Europe where even small towns have train service, the US is a third-world country when it comes to rail and other forms of public transit.

[LeftinOH]

12. It may not be Biden's fault - but Biden's gonna have to something..

Like call out Oil industry execs - by name- or call them to DC and have them explain to him -and to the American public- why their profit margins are so historically high. It's time to play serious hardball with Exxon, BP, etc.

[BumRushDaShow]

24. The House Oversight Committee did that

a little over a month ago (April 6, 2022) -

I added the livestream to "Video & Multimedia" at the time and it didn't get much of a response - https://www.democraticunderground.com/1017727081

[CountAllVotes]

15. It is $6.29/gallon where I live

Here in the pacific northwest of California!

[OneCrazyDiamond]

22. I want to retire up there I think.

I am thinking in the coastal redwoods.

[CountAllVotes]

29. There are people moving here from all over the place

Its knocking out all of the locals.

Housing used to be affordable.

Now it is not.

There is a shortage of everything from doctors, dentists, veterinarians, housing (BIG TIME!) etc. etc. etc.

Rents have gone through the roof. When I first moved here I was renting a place north of here for $400 a month. It was an un-insulated dump of a place to live. Today it is going for $1500.00! !!

It used to be a nice place to live but all of these new people are coming and many with crime. Everyone is now having burglar alarms and cameras installed around their homes. They all seem to have money aplenty.

This is NOT the place I moved to in 1991!

[oldsoftie]

35. MOST places aren't the places they were in '91. Sad but true. People are just worse today

I rent homes. The difference in renters today from the 90s is like night & day. And the amount of rent doesnt even matter. People get sorrier every year.

[OneCrazyDiamond]

48. It is exactly the same down on the central coast too.

The internet claims the not dump, but not great house we have rents for $3000 per month...When I moved here a studio 2 blocks from beach was $360 WITH UTILITIES INCLUDED!

[CountAllVotes]

61. I managed to get a house here in 2000

It is a small redwood house not far from the beach.

I got it via the Rural Housing Service (USDA). I'm not sure if they still exist!

Anyway, I have no plans to move as I have nowhere to move to! Said house has almost quadrupled in value. Unbelievable.

I'm glad I managed to get the house when I did as I was on a waiting list for 10 years before my name came up!

[VMA131Marine]

16. A gallon of gas at $5/gallon is equal in energy content to

$1.85 worth of electricity in an EV, once you take the efficiencies of each system into account. That means $5 will take me twice as far in an EV than it will in an ICE engine. 4 times as far if, like me, you have solar panels and a net metering agreement so that my average cost of electricity is $0.12/kWh rather than the $0.24/kWH I assumed in this calculation.

The future is electric and it’s here now.

[OneCrazyDiamond]

23. This.

Who cares what the gas price is when we are all on electric. Legacy fuel for legacy minds I guess.

[The Mouth]

33. The future is us losing our asses in 2022 and 2024

if gas doesn't come WAY the hell down. Not everyone can buy, or wants an electric car. Goody for you and others, but working stiffs who can barely afford a Toyota or Chevy with 150K miles are the ones being hurt here, not that a lot of people care.

We need CHEAP gas, cheap natural gas, cheap electricity.

[oldsoftie]

36. I'm pretty sure you nailed it.

Everyone wants to run to solar/wind, but nobody thinks about just WHO supplies the critical materials FOR those things. China. So we go from being dependent on the Saudis to being dependent (Or I should say MORE dependent; we're already there) on our enemy, China. And we cannot supply the needs of the 330M population with solar & wind. So nuclear is the clear answer to make up the difference.
And right now, even that Chevy with 150k is running 20K!!

[The Mouth]

43. Well, according to some,

I should just withdraw $30-40K from my investments and buy a Tesla, don't you know.

The bloviating about oil company profits simply doesn't matter to most of those folks who are going to vote. There is *nothing* that can be done at that end; attack them on 'price gouging' or 'profiteering' and we'll just end up with gas shortages, long lines, even odd day/even day purchasing. I know that will make the self-righteous ecologically correct crowd happy, right up until Trump or DeSantis is sworn in.

We should go back to being the party of the WORKING (WO)MAN.

[Blues Heron]

53. there are other options besides a Tesla - Here's a Volt for $15K

https://www.carmax.com/car/22306399

[VMA131Marine]

39. You're telling me what you want ...

I’m telling you what we have.

The best selling vehicle in the US is the Ford F-150, in its various incarnations, because Americans came to believe that cheap gas was a birthright and not a product of supply and demand. Supply is currently short because buying Russian oil is out of the question and OPEC won’t, or can’t increase production. Oil services companies in the US lost billions over the las few years fracking wells in Texas and the Bakken Shale and selling the oil they produced below cost. Few institutions will now lend the capital needed to ramp up production again knowing that OPEC can turn up the spigot for a little while and crash the price again.

Bottom line, if you are driving around as the sole occupant of a vehicle that gets less than 30 mpg don’t complain about the price of gas. Experts in oil production have said for years that the low price was unsustainable so your failure to plan ahead is not my concern.

[The Mouth]

41. In other words "Let Them Eat Cake"

Got it.

Yes, god-damn it, cheap gas is exactly what powers the economy for actual working folks.

Frack, drill, kiss OPEC's ass, whatever it takes.

Don't go fucking telling me, or any of my working stiff homies "don't complain ...blah, blah, blah", the people "complaining" are the fuckers that fix your toilet, install your cable, mow your lawn and do work that people who just blithely say "oh, just buy an electric car" can't or won't do.

That kind of condescending attitude is going to get our asses handed to us.

Cheap gas, cheap electricity (we need 100+ more nuclear plants, we need to start 'em NOW, as well as getting drilling for anything, anywhere, and cheap natural gas.

America runs on energy, we need all the solar, all the wind, all the hydro (and some idiots are actually talking about taking damns OUT of use in California where there is also drought); drill everything and anywhere.

I believe in a Democratic party that is about the working stiff, yeah, they drive a 10+ old F150 and they take their coffee in a thermos not at Starbucks, and they sweat and they stink and they hurt when they get off of a 10 hour day, and they look at nutters protesting drilling, or pipelines, or more concerned with icebergs melting than being able to put food on the table tonight as effete snobs every bit as bad as any Republican.


Kitchen table- economic issues; the cost of living, everything else is minor bullshit in the world me and my friends inhabit.

Enjoy that Prius or Tesla, I'm sure you earned it, just don't be whining when we have a solidly Republican congress roll back every hard-fought liberal initiative of the last 50 years.

[OneCrazyDiamond]

49. When you wrote "drill everything and anywhere"

It made me think of "Drill Baby Drill". I agree we need cheap electricity, but cheap legacy fuels only enables environmental destruction.
Higher costs for those pushes us in the right direction.

[oldsoftie]

51. and it makes a GREAT campaign ad for every republican.

Until someone invents something that has a drastic impact on energy supply, we simply HAVE to continue to use oil & gas. Maybe we can make it burn cleaner; I don't know. But what I DO know is if you go out in public as a Democratic politician & say "Higher costs push us in the right direction", you're gonna get your hat handed to you

[The Mouth]

55. Thank you

First and foremost and above all- how is the economy for the average working stiff.

It ain't good right now, and the party in power is the one that gets the blame, just like they usually get the credit when things are good.

Cheap gas, cheap food, cheap energy and SOON or kiss Congress and the Whitehouse good fucking by

Yeah, social justice, and the environment matter to a lot of people; to be honest nothing else matters at ALL until my paycheck and that of my friends and fellow blue collar working fucks covers expenses and allows for a bit of savings for emergencies. I''ll be an ally with BLM or WWF or whoever, but anyone who doesn't care deeply about how the finances look at the end of the month around my kitchen table when the bills are being paid - and gasoline and food and heat are the biggies - might as well be a Republican or any other kind of criminal as far as I am concerned.

Dollars and sense, it's the economy above all else in my world.

[OneCrazyDiamond]

57. We won't win anything by lowering ourselves to the MAGAT party.

That is race to the bottom.

The Science says legacy fuels are literally killing us. If we can't start moving away from them now, then when? There will always be reason not to do the right thing, but it doesn't change what is right.

[oldsoftie]

59. With China & India building more coal plants, I no longer worry about it.

if we go all-in on solar & wind, we'll enslave ourselves to china even further. And they WILL capitalize on that position. We'll just have to adapt because if we froze everything NOW we'd still get the warming and the higher ocean levels. That what we've been told or years.
Its not "lowering ourselves" to think about the average worker who just can't afford the much higher prices for "better" appliances, Ac units, cars, etc. Home HVAC units cost far more than they used to and last half as long. Thats real efficient. Buy the electric car & then just wait till you need a new battery pack.

[VMA131Marine]

50. I fix my own toilet

And mow my own grass, thank you very much. I also drive a 16-year old hybrid because I knew when I bought it that cheap gas was something that could not last indefinitely. If OPEC won’t play ball, and if the global transportation shortage continues there is literally nothing in the short term that can be done to bring down fuel prices. I live in Connecticut and have oil heat; filling a 275-gallon tank at $5/gallon is painful, no doubt. I also know that long term I will have to switch to some sort of heat pump system if I don’t want heating oil to consume most of my budget in winter.

You’re telling me what you want; I’m telling you what’s available and it’s not that.

[oldsoftie]

52. A heat pump isn't very efficient below 25 degrees.

Maybe you could look into geothermal. And it aint cheap.

[VMA131Marine]

56. That's why...

Companies like the one I work for are developing cold climate heat pumps that maintain reasonable efficiency and capacity down below 0°F.

It’s a major DOE initiative.

[BumRushDaShow]

19. This is the "switch to summer blend" price hike that happens before Memorial Day every year

but is now on top of the other gouging going on.

[oldsoftie]

37. I believe the summer blend switch was suspended.

Something to do with E15 vs E10 I think

[BumRushDaShow]

42. It's unfortunately a bit more complicated than that

It depends on the car and whether a station even offers it...

What’s different about E15/Unleaded 88 gas this summer?

You may have heard it on the news a few weeks ago. This year, President Biden has announced that the Environmental Protection Agency will issue an emergency waiver permitting year-round sales of E15 gasoline, which contains a 15% ethanol blend, to reduce the burden of rising fuel costs this summer. Commonly sold as Unleaded 88 at many gas stations around the U.S., this type of fuel is often able to be sold for cheaper than regular gasoline. So, while you will likely be able to purchase E15 this summer, and it sounds like a no-brainer to pay less, we recommend you consult your owner’s manuals before filling up on E15, especially to ensure you’re not doing something that could void your car’s warranty.

https://www.gasbuddy.com/go/summer-gas-2022

I know before I retired from the federal government, we had some of our agency's fleet that were "Flex-fuel" types and I remember that there was only a single nearby gas station that actually sold E15, but that type of car could supposedly take just about any type of fuel. However out of about 145,000 gas stations nationwide, you only have a couple thousand that are actually configured and advertise that they sell E15.

Biden to allow E15 ethanol-blended gas to be sold throughout the US this summer to counter soaring fuel prices

Grace Dean
Apr 12, 2022, 6:50 AM

(snip)

The White House said that E15 is currently offered at 2,300 gas stations in the country, though S&P Global noted that these are mostly located in the Midwest. E10 gasoline, which has a lower concentration of ethanol, is more widely available, and throughout the year, according to S&P Global.

https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-biden-e15-gasoline-fuel-prices-summer-waiver-ethanol-us-2022-4

I.e., IIRC, the "standard" (even when blended) was "87", "89", "91" (and some offer "93" ) octane and going to "summer blend" is not just a change in percent of "ethanol" -

A typical summer-grade gasoline is composed of fluid catalytic cracker gasoline, 40%; straight-run gasoline (directly from crude oil distillation), 25%; alkylate, 15%; reformate, 18%; and butane, 2%. Winter-grade gasoline usually contains more butane, which has an octane rating slightly below premium gasoline (91-93 octane). While butane is an economic component of gasoline, the high volatility of butane limits the amount of butane that can be used in summer-grade gasoline.

https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=11031

And depending on the state, there may be different "blends" of "summer" / "winter" due to their climate.

[Warpy]

20. Oh, FFS, how is this is fault?

I'm sick and tired of shit reporting that doesn't focus on price gouging, using the Ukraine war and sanctions against Russia for excuses.

Yes, with Russia being eased out as a supplier, prices were always going to go up, but this is ridiculous.

[Bayard]

30. Threaten to nationalize oil companies

That should get their attention.

Our prices haven't changed much here since Putin's War, around $3.60 a gallon for regular unleaded now in central KY. It was a tad over $2 till then.

[AZLD4Candidate]

31. Democrats in power: What will the President do about gas prices?

Republicans in power: Presidents have little power controlling gas prices.

My father in law in China pays about $7 a gallon.

[VMA131Marine]

40. It's $10/gallon in the UK and Europe

[The Mouth]

44. And how many hundreds of miles does the average person in the UK

or Europe have to drive an a truck laden with tools and/or building and landscaping materials?

Love Europe, lived in Ireland. REALITY where I live is driving 400-600 miles a week to install garage doors or a new fence in a 15 year old 1/2 ton truck. Electric and public transportation mean no more to most of my friends than the plot of some subtitled movie from France or who the latest EDM superstar is.

[dalton99a]

34. Kick

[bluestarone]

45. Maybe it's time to DEMAND oil Giants to STOP ripping off Americans OR

Americans, that want electric vehicles they can get a $10,000 discount on one.

[Samrob]

54. The money bags withheld money and investment when Obama was President just to hurt his adm

now they are raising gas prices to hurt the Biden adm. I wish there were enough of us to just go into a sacrificial act of not buying anything but necessities and not driving anywhere alone but car pooling and walking or riding a bike.

We need to behave like this is world war III and do what the greatest generation did. Work together, share, and sacrifice.

[UT_democrat]

58. Stop driving or Drive less?

Would this send a message to Big Oil or is it another dumb idea that wil have no affect?

I don't even kkow anymore.