Biden: Inflation Data Does Not Reflect Impact Of Gasoline Price Decline

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that the June inflation data showing the highest inflation in the United States in more than 40 years is “out-of-date” because gasoline prices have been falling over the past 30 days and are $0.40 a gallon off the record in mid-June.

Today, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced consumer prices for June 2022, saying that over the last 12 months, the all items index jumped by 9.1 percent—the fastest consumer price increase since November 1981.

The energy index rose 7.5 percent over the month and contributed nearly half of the all items increase, with the gasoline index rising 11.2 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said.  

Commenting on the inflation data, President Biden said in a statement that “While today’s headline inflation reading is unacceptably high, it is also out-of-date.”

“Energy alone comprised nearly half of the monthly increase in inflation. Today’s data does not reflect the full impact of nearly 30 days of decreases in gas prices, that have reduced the price at the pump by about 40 cents since mid-June. Those savings are providing important breathing room for American families,” President Biden said.

He also vowed to continue doing everything he can to bring down the price of gasoline further. As of July 13, the national average gasoline price was $4.631 per gallon, down from a record $5.014 a month ago.

Related: China’s Oil Imports Fell In June

“I will continue my historic release of oil from our strategic petroleum reserve. I will continue working with our European allies to put a price cap on Russian oil – sapping Putin of oil revenue. And, I will continue to work with the U.S. oil and gas industry to increase production responsibly — already, the U.S. is producing 12.1 million barrels of oil per day and is on track to break records,” the President said.

He also warned, once again, oil companies against profiting from gasoline prices.

“The price of oil is down about 20% since mid-June, but the price of gas has so far only fallen half as much. Oil and gas companies must not use this moment as an excuse for profiting by not passing along savings at the pump,” President Biden said.  

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com 

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