Grand Canyon Times

The increase in pump prices may have slowed in the last week, but Americans are still paying over $1000 more for gasoline this year than last. 

Gasoline price increases eased slightly last week, as the nation saw a drop in demand. Friday's national average price per gallon was reported at $5.00, 48 cents higher than a month ago. The latest Gasoline Misery Index showed that on average, Americans are spending $1,009 more annually on gasoline now than they did at this time last year. In the state of Arizona, the average of $5.39 per gallon was 9 cents higher than the week before, and the Gasoline Misery Index sits at $1,161.

The Gasoline Misery Index tracks how much more (or less) the average American consumer is paying for gasoline on an annualized basis. Compiled 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, the index 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.

AAA recently reported that according to the latest data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), total domestic gasoline stocks decreased by 700,000 bbl to 217.5 million bbl last week. Meanwhile, gasoline demand dropped slightly from 9.2 million b/d to 9.09 million b/d. The minor drop in gas demand from American drivers has helped minimize pump price increases, but AAA warned that because crude oil prices remain volatile the price per gallon for gasoline will likely remain high.

The EIA reported that when President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, the average price for a gallon of gas was $2.33. Friday's current national average of $5.00 per gallon means prices have more than doubled since then. With Americans now spending an average of $1,402 more per year on gasoline since the president entered office, GasolineMiseryIndex.com has taken to referring to that number as the Biden Misery Index.

On March 31, in his efforts to bring down pump prices, Biden announced the release of up to 180 million barrels of crude oil from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) over a six-month time period. The president said there would be a slight delay in declining gas prices by days or weeks, but prices would drop by an unknown amount. Although prices dropped minimally after the initial release more than two months ago, the effect was short-lived.

"Releasing barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves is a political stunt that has not made a dent on gas prices," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a recent Twitter post. "We need real energy policy solutions from the Biden Administration so Americans can stop paying $5 for a gallon of gas."

Friday's national average of $5.00 per gallon represents an 18.5% climb since March 31—the day of the SPR release—when gas averaged $4.22 per gallon, 78 cents cheaper than June 17, a AAA report said.