Pirate's Cove

The Times wants you down on your knees thanking Biden and the Democrats (available at Yahoo without paywall)

Gasoline Prices, a Source of Pain Last Year, Have Come Way Down

Americans who fill up their cars this Memorial Day weekend will catch a break — at least compared with a year ago, when gasoline prices were soaring.

The national average price for regular gasoline is a full dollar a gallon lower than a year ago. Drivers paid over $4.60 in May 2022, and prices had reached $5 by the second week of June. This week, they paid just over $3.50 a gallon for regular gasoline, according to AAA, the motor club.

Many energy experts said they expected prices to stay around these levels for much of the summer, barring a major disruption to global oil supplies.

What was it in May 2021, as the Biden economy kicked in? $3.07, which is a bit higher than 2018 and 2019. 2020 was an aberration at $1.96. It was $2.40 when Trump left office. So, anyhow, you’re supposed to be thrilled that it is $3.50 now. Seriously, bow, peasants!

Because gasoline prices are posted on street corners on big colorful signs, they can have a powerful psychological impact on consumers, especially on middle- and lower-income people who tend to drive older, less fuel-efficient vehicles and spend a larger proportion of their income on energy than affluent people.

“Who wouldn’t be happy to save the money?” said Eddie White, 46, who uses his pickup truck to make deliveries and offer rides through Uber. Filling up at least once a day, White, who lives in the Houston area, said he was saving roughly $420 a week. He is using that money to pay for classes that will help him become an insurance adjuster.

“Save money.” So, if I double your costs, then give you a 30% break, you’ll be happy, right?

Prices spiked last year after Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Oil traders had expected Russian exports to fall because of the sanctions imposed on the country by the United States and its allies in response to the invasion.

Still pushing this garbage, eh? Yes, yes, the price of oil is set internationally, so, it can cause problems here in the U.S. even though we get virtually no oil from Russia. However, prices were already going up prior to the Russian invasion.

Patrick De Haan, the head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, a company that tracks gas prices, said he expected the national average price for regular gas to stay under $4 a gallon this summer. He estimated that consumers would spend $1.6 billion less than last year on gasoline over Memorial Day weekend. The Energy Department recently estimated that the average national price for gasoline this summer would be $3.40 a gallon, about 20% lower than last year.

But, that’s about $1.6 billion more than when Trump was president. Which also means food and goods are much more. Hooray!