Gas in North Carolina costs an average of $4.36 per gallon, while the national average is at $4.60. | Pexels/Andrea Piacquadio
Gas in North Carolina costs an average of $4.36 per gallon, while the national average is at $4.60. | Pexels/Andrea Piacquadio
The national gas average has still not declined roughly two months following President Joe Biden's emergency oil release, according to a recent AAA report.
The national gas average, according to AAA, is $4.60, a number that has only remained static or increased since April 24; this price has also set a daily record since May 10. The average price of gasoline has surpassed $4 per gallon in all 50 states for the first time in U.S. history.
AAA also reports that within the last month, the price of gasoline in North Carolina has increased by 54 cents.
In an attempt to reduce rising gas prices, Biden announced on March 31 that the U.S. would release approximately 180 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) over the next six months, according to CNBC Television.
Biden predicted that there would be a delay of a few days to a few weeks in the drop in gas prices.
"(Gas prices) could come down fairly significantly. It could come down [to] a better part of anything from 10 cents to 35 cents a gallon; it’s unknown at this point,” Biden said on March 31.
He has revealed measures to refill the SPR supply, beginning with the acquisition of 60 million barrels of crude oil, according to CNN Business. The U.S. Energy Department says this will take years and only cover a third of the president's release. Biden has not yet revealed any intentions to expand domestic oil output.
On May 24, the average national price of gasoline was up 11.7% from $4.12 per gallon the previous month, according to AAA.
Gas was $4.22 a gallon on March 31, the day the SPR was released, which is 38 cents lower than it is now.
Recent Energy Information Administration (EIA) figures revealed total American gasoline stocks fell by 4.8 million barrels to 220.2 million barrels last week.
During the same time period, gasoline demand climbed from 8.7 million barrels per day to 9 million barrels per day. AAA reports that supply constraints and growing demand have helped drive up gas prices over the last several months.
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