Gas prices have fallen to a low not seen since February as Americans prepare for further weeks of the holiday season, the Biden White House highlighted.
“Gas Update: The national average price of a gallon of gas is now under $3.50 for the first time since February,” a Wednesday post noted. “This continued decline in prices is adding up to real savings for American families.” As of early Thursday, the national average for a single gallon of regular gas was $3.47, a couple of cents below the average from the previous day. The average is within ten cents of the average seen a year ago on the same date, marking an even further decrease from the record highs seen during the summer as issues like the war in Ukraine threatened to destabilize the global energy supply as nations cut off ties with Putin’s regime that started the conflict.
Currently, threats posed by interests including Russia still linger. “In October, OPEC+ decided to cut its collective crude oil output by 2 million b/d through 2023,” a recent news article from AAA, which maintains data covering average gas prices, said. “If OPEC+ decides to revise its production reduction agreement to more than 2 million b/d, prices could spike.” OPEC+ is a group of oil-producing countries that includes Russia, and b/d is an abbreviation for barrels per day.
Some of the more recent developments driving the declines in gas prices according to that same article include declines in demand and increases in supply. Biden has also taken action. “President Biden is committed to doing everything in his power to bring prices down for American families,” a press release issued just over a month ago by the White House said. “This includes the President’s announcement to extend the release of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve through December, his intention to repurchase oil around $70/barrel to replenish the SPR, and his call for oil and gas companies to pass their savings from declining oil and wholesale gas prices on to consumers at the pump.” There were dramatic predictions prior to Biden securing the presidency that him serving in the White House would mean economic calamity for the United States, something that just isn’t happening, with unemployment also remaining low.
