Gas Prices Drop Lower Than Last Year, Destroying GOP Narrative

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According to AAA, which collects data on gas prices, the average cost for a gallon of regular gas on Monday was lower than the average prices seen a day, week, month, and year prior.

It’s a substantial hit to any narrative about the supposedly expanding economic collapse of the United States — or however Trump might try to describe what he’s imagining — with Biden in charge. The price per gallon for regular gas reached a Monday average across the country of $3.365. A year ago, that average was $3.604. An article from AAA tied some of the recent drops in price for gas to declining oil prices, although that recap of some of the recent data also pointed to declines in the level of available supplies and upticks in demand, establishing some of the circumstances that could lead to an increase in cost in coming weeks. It’s clear, though. As unemployment remains low, with new claims for unemployment help also low across the country, and disposable personal incomes seemingly vastly outpacing inflation last month in comparison to December, there are signs of success.

In the latest data on gas prices from AAA, some of the lowest prices were seen in portions of the South, like Texas, although costs on the lower end of the spectrum also reached all the way to places like New Jersey. Gas prices in states like New Jersey and Wisconsin were lower on average than the national average as calculated by AAA. The distribution of gas prices wasn’t evenly split between states controlled by the respective major parties. Western states like Utah and Idaho were among the locales with average prices above the national average Monday. In recently available data, the spread is similarly large among states recording the largest drops in new claims for unemployment assistance in the week that ended February 11. California, Pennsylvania, and Illinois rounded out the top three. In the middle of last year, record highs in gas prices ended up tracking closely with upticks in new claims for unemployment, which briefly passed 250,000 in a week. In the week of February 18, that total fell on a seasonally adjusted basis to 192,000.

Image: Gage Skidmore/ Creative Commons