Grand Canyon Times

Record-high gasoline prices still average above $4 per gallon, as today's national average price per gallon has been reported at $4.16, up 4 cents from last week. The latest Gasoline Misery Index shows that on average, Americans will spend $667 more annually on gasoline now than they did at this time last year.

 In the state of Arizona, the average is $4.55 per gallon and the misery number sits at $764.

The Gasoline Misery Index tracks how much more (or less) the average American consumer is paying for gasoline on an annualized basis using gas price data from the American Automobile Association (AAA), average fuel efficiency (mpg) data from the U.S. Department of Energy and average miles driven from MetroMile.com. With this, it tracks the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline and adjusts using the average miles traveled by the average miles per gallon of American cars.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), in January 2021 the national average price per gallon of gasoline was $2.33. It has increased nearly 79% when compared to Friday's national average price of $4.16. 

A number that gasolinemiseryindex.com calls the Biden Misery Index, Americans are spending an average of $961 more per year on gasoline today since the president entered office in January.

On April 12, Fox 10 Phoenix reported that at a luncheon for the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema told business executives, "The reasonable way to address what is going to be an oil shortage in America is for us to responsibly increase our own domestic oil production." 

Sinema, who is often at odds with the progressive wing of her party, called for an "all-of-the-above energy strategy," which generally means promoting the production of both renewable and fossil fuels, the report states. At that time, Sinema said the U.S. dependence on foreign oil jeopardizes its security and that of its allies.

In his effort to bring down gas prices, Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona pushed Congress to pass a gas tax relief bill in early March, according to a report by KOLD News 13. Kelly’s bill would suspend the 18.4 cent gallon tax through the rest of the year.

This comes as the American Automobile Association (AAA) reports total domestic gasoline stocks decreased by 1.6 million bbl to 230.8 million bbl last week, according to data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Over that same period, gasoline demand decreased slightly from 8.87 million b/d to 8.7 million b/d. 

Although lower gas demand would typically push pump prices lower, the fluctuating oil price and tight gasoline supply have pushed pump prices higher. Pump prices will likely face upward pressure as oil prices remain above $100 per barrel.