Old North News

Peak driving is approaching and drivers in North Carolina and across the nation are feeling the pressure as the price of gasoline is on the rise again.

Gasoline prices have set new records in the last week, as they continue to climb higher every day. Today's national average price per gallon has been reported at $4.43, up another 15 cents from last week. The latest Gasoline Misery Index shows that on average, Americans will spend $735 more annually on gasoline now than they did at this time last year. In North Carolina, the average is $4.21 per gallon and the misery number sits at $832.

The Gasoline Misery Index tracks how much more (or less) the average American consumer is paying for gasoline on an annualized basis, according to the Index’s website. Numbers are 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.

"Americans today will have collectively spent over half a billion dollars more on gasoline compared to a year ago. ~$550+ million more to be exact," Patrick De Haan, oil and refined products analyst of GasBuddy, said on May 11.

May 13's national average of $4.43 per gallon represents an 8.6% climb from a month ago when the average was $4.08 per gallon. Over a month ago, Biden released a record amount of crude oil from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), an act that was said to bring down pump prices. On March 31, the day of Biden's SPR release, gas was $4.22 per gallon, 21 cents cheaper than today, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), in January 2021 the national average price per gallon of gasoline was $2.33. It has increased 90% when compared to Friday's national average price of $4.43, a number that the Gasoline Misery Index calls the Biden Misery Index. Americans are spending an average of $1,103 more per year on gasoline today since the president entered office in January.

On May 4, North Carolina Senators Tillis and Burr were among 53 Senate Republicans who voted for Sen. Barrasso’s (R-WY) motion to require the immediate development of a new 5-year federal offshore oil and gas leasing plan. The plan, which is intended to ease energy prices in the U.S., mandated lease sales for oil and gas exploration in the Gulf of Mexico and off the coast of Alaska.

President Biden signed an executive order freezing all new oil and gas leasing on federal lands, shortly after taking office last January. He has since canceled a number of oil leases. According to a May 11 announcement from The Hill, the Administration has now canceled oil and gas lease sales in Alaska's Cook Inlet and the Gulf of Mexico. The lease in Alaska would have covered more than 1 million acres. The Hill points out that the administration's announcement comes at a time when Biden’s approval ratings from Americans have plunged on economic issues in particular. Congressional Republicans have also continued to blast the administration’s energy policies after average nationwide gas prices reached an all-time high earlier this week.