As President Joe Biden seeks to control his biggest domestic issue, inflation, Americans are seeing new record highs at petrol stations across the country. According to industry experts, gasoline prices in the United States have risen by as much as $0.26 in only one week, reaching above $4.80 per gallon on Monday, May 6, as stockpiles continue to fall, and refinery capacity is lower than before COVID. It appears that the national average will reach the psychological threshold of $5 in a matter of days. The national average exceeded this week, which is more than double the price of gas when Biden entered office in January 2021, when it was $2.38 per gallon. 

The consumer price index in the United States eased for the first time in eight months in April, falling 0.2 percent from the previous month to 8.3 percent. Despite the little drop, inflation remained at 40-year high, exceeding economists’ predictions. As declining consumer demand and loosened supply chains alleviate price rises, inflation in the United States was earlier projected to have eased in May, indicating that inflation was likely to apex.

Gasoline stockpiles in the United States have continued to fall despite demand decreasing owing to high prices, a result of lower refining capacity and high consumption, a scenario that does not appear to be improving anytime soon. Nine states now have average gas prices above $5 per gallon, with more on the way in the coming days and weeks. Furthermore, diesel costs are also at an all-time high, delivering a second stomach blow to consumers and driving up the cost of most commodities.

According to the latest statistics from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), motor gasoline stocks in the United States are now around 9% lower than the five-year average for this time of year. Diesel stockpiles are around 24% lower than the five-year norm for this time of year. 

This is yet another difficulty for the US government, which has tried and failed to lower prices through different methods such as huge crude releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) or higher ethanol blending requirements.