Every now and then, I check in with the American Automobile Association, to see if the national average price for a gallon of gasoline aligns with what I’m seeing when I fill up my tank. As of this morning, the national average is $3.34 per gallon for regular unleaded.
On November 24, one day after President Biden announced the release of 50 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline was $3.39. In late December, it dropped to $3.28.
Even though a price drop of a dime per gallon wasn’t much, Biden was quick to celebrate.
Gas prices are down ten cents nationally, and some states across the country are seeing gas prices at pre-pandemic averages. This will help so many Americans who are traveling this week.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) December 24, 2021
By comparison, one year ago, in the opening week of the Biden administration, the national average was $2.40.
When President Biden announced the release from the reserve, he described it as “a tool matched to today’s specific economic environment, where markets expect future oil prices to be lower than they are today, and helps provide relief to Americans immediately and bridge to that period of expected lower oil prices.”
Enjoy all of that immediate relief, Americans!