President Joe Biden called on U.S. oil refiners to produce more gasoline and diesel on Wednesday, claiming that profits had tripled during the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, while Americans face record high gas prices.
“The crunch that families are facing deserves immediate action,” Biden wrote in the draft of a letter to oil refiners obtained by The Associated Press. Your companies need to work with my Administration to bring forward concrete, near-term solutions that address the crisis,” he said.
Gas prices are averaging around $5 per gallon across the country, putting a financial strain on many Americans and posing a political danger to the president’s Democratic colleagues as the November elections approach. Broader inflation began to grow last year as the US economy recovered from the coronavirus outbreak, but it has accelerated in recent months as oil and food prices have risen as a result of Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine, which disrupted global commodities markets.
Consumer prices increased 8.6% from a year earlier, the largest increase in more than 40 years, according to the government.
When oil was last near the current price of $120 a barrel in March, gas prices were averaging $4.25 a gallon, according to the draft letter. The letter claims that the 75-cent change in average gas prices in only a few months indicates both a refinery capacity issue and earnings that are now at their greatest levels ever recorded.
Source: The Associated Press