Americans have paid more for their gasoline and diesel at the pump on average during President Donald Trump’s second term than they did under his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, according to the AAA.
Surging fuel prices are a major thorn in Trump’s side as midterm elections loom and the Republican Party looks to defend narrow majorities in both legislative chambers on November 3.
The price of a gallon of regular gasoline has averaged $3.472 since Trump took office almost two years ago, edging out the $3.471-per-gallon average for Biden’s term, according to data from the AAA.
Russia’s war in Ukraine, now in its fifth year, as well as the US-Israeli war with Iran, almost in its ninth month, have both squeezed global crude and fuel supplies and forced emergency oil releases in the US and Europe.
The war in Iran has spilled out across the Middle East, with much of the conflict centered around the Strait of Hormuz, through which around a fifth of global oil and gas supplies flowed before the war broke out in February.
“Once this conflict comes to an end, gas prices will drop drastically… Thanks to the exceptional work of the US military, more oil is now flowing out of the Persian Gulf than before the Iran conflict began,” said White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers.
The seven-day moving average for Middle East oil exports including Hormuz flows and Gulf of Oman shipments as well as Red Sea shipments reached 24.6 million barrels per day in the week to October 18, according to Kpler, its highest level since the war broke out in late February, and surpassing pre-war levels.
STICKY INFLATION
Sticky inflation makes nominal price comparisons misleading, analysts said, with consumer expectations for inflation over the next year nudged up to 4.7% from 4.6% in September, a survey showed last week.
Twelve-month inflation expectations have surged from 3.4% in February before the US-Israeli war with Iran started.
“Adjusting for inflation puts this into context as the value of the dollar continues to impact prices over the longer run. Americans are still not paying record amounts of their income on filling up their tanks,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, on average fuel prices under Trump surpassing those under Biden.
Trump’s approval rating fell to a record low this month as Americans worried about high gasoline prices, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll published on October 19.
Some 31% of Americans approve of Trump’s performance in office, down a percentage point from two weeks earlier and the lowest level in either of his presidential terms, the four-day poll showed. Just 23% of adults polled nationwide approve of his handling of the economy.
Prices for diesel, the fuel that powers the global economy from agriculture and heavy industry to shipping, have also surpassed Biden’s national average under Trump, at $4.343 a gallon compared with $4.078 a gallon. US diesel hit a record high on September 22 at $6.523 a gallon.
(Reporting by Georgina McCartney in Houston and Jarrett Renshaw in Washington; editing by David Gaffen, Liz Hampton and Stephen Coates)