Peach Tree Times

As demand for crude oil continues to drop, gas prices in the United States have slightly declined over the past week. Today's national average price per gallon has been reported at $4.84, 17 cents higher than a month ago.

The latest Gasoline Misery Index shows that on average, Americans will spend $904 more annually on gasoline now than they did at this time last year. In the state of Georgia, the average of $5.35 per gallon is 8 cents cheaper than last week and the Misery number sits at $1,027.

In a press conference on June 30, President Joe Biden said Americans should be prepared to deal with high gas prices for "as long as it takes, '' with reference to the war in Ukraine.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) announced recently that gasoline demand has fallen for two consecutive weeks, and that demand is lower now than it was at this time last year, resulting in slightly cheaper crude oil, according to a report by the American Automobile Association (AAA). The report pointed out that demand for crude oil has been falling due to concerns over the lack of economic growth, increasing inflation and rising interest rates, contributing to the slight decrease in gas prices.

Compiled using gas price data from 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. The index tracks how much more (or less) the average American consumer is paying for gasoline on an annualized basis.

According to the EIA, in January 2021 the national average price per gallon of gasoline was $2.33. It has more than doubled and has increased over 111% when compared to Friday's national average price of $4.84. A number that gasolinemiseryindex.com calls the Biden Misery Index, Americans are spending an average of $1,318 more per year on gasoline today since the president entered office in January.

In June, President Joe Biden called for Congress to suspend the federal gas tax for three months. This would amount to an 18-cent per gallon savings.

However, Biden's proposed gas tax suspension does not appear to have much Congressional support. President Biden might have to convince key members of his own party to vote for the suspension. 

According to CNN, key Democrat Senators consider the proposal "shortsighted", "inefficient", and not guaranteed to work.