White House Press Secretary Karine Jean PierreGoogle’s comment that gasoline prices currently remain well below their 2022 peak has sparked backlash among conservatives on social media and other users complaining that fuel is still “way too expensive “.
During a press briefing on Monday, Jean-Pierre responded to a reporter’s question about the increase in gas prices across the country over the past month and what the Biden administration was going to do about it. subject.
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“I don’t have any new actions to read,” Jean-Pierre said. “I would say gas prices remain well below their 2022 peak, I think that’s important. The average gas price right now is cheaper than this time last year, and that’s because of what this president has done over the last three years.”
As of Tuesday, the national average price of gasoline was $3.644 per gallon, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA), up from $3.634 the day before and $3.608 the week before. A month ago, on March 16, the national average price of gasoline was $3.455 per gallon. Compared to a year ago, gasoline prices are slightly lower: on April 16, 2023, the national average was $3.669 per gallon.
THE Republican The National Committee shared an excerpt from the press briefing on Twitterwriting that “gas prices have increased nearly 52% since Biden took office.”
Another social media user on the platform wrote: “It used to cost $2. Now it’s over $3. The fact that it’s no longer $4 doesn’t change the fact that the price is still high .” Another wrote that gas prices were “still way too expensive.”
A user who describes herself as an “old school conservative” wrote: “Karine Jean-Pierre praises current gas prices, even after being told they have increased by 20¢/ gallon in the last month. price under Biden?”
When Biden took office in January 2021, gasoline prices averaged $2.4 per gallon nationwide, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). In December of that year, they stood at over $3 per gallon, and in June 2022, they reached a high of $5.06 per gallon due to difficulties caused in part by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
This chart, provided by Statista, shows the average weekly retail price of regular gasoline in the United States (per gallon, including taxes).
Gas prices, whose skyrocketing price has contributed to rising inflation between 2022 and 2023, have soared across the country recently, raising concerns that they could discourage the Federal Reserve from cutting interest rates. Gas prices have jumped 17% so far this year, approaching their highest level since October 2023, according to Charlie Bilello, chief market strategist at Creative Planning.
But while rising gas prices are bad news for American motorists, their growth is not entirely unexpected. It’s common for gas prices to rise as the weather warms and people are eager to hit the road, between March and April, peaking at the start of summer in June.
Patrick De Haan, head of oil analysis at GasBuddy, wrote on In its 2024 outlook, GasBuddy predicts that this year’s highest prices will be reached at the height of the summer driving season in May, with the national average reaching $3.89 per gallon.
News week contacted De Haan for comment via email Tuesday morning.
“The record gasoline average of $5.04/gal in June 2022 will not be repeated this year, with some caveats,” De Haan said.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.