Old North News

In North Carolina and across the nation, sky-high gas prices and an 8.6% inflation report are leading to overwhelming levels of disapproval for the Biden administration. 

An ABC News/Ipsos poll found that President Joe Biden’s approval rating from the U.S. public on several key issues, such as economic recovery, inflation and gas prices, remains underwater, as a majority of Americans disapprove of the president's performance.

The June poll indicates that only 37% of Americans currently approve of Biden’s handling of the economy. This rating is in line with polls from the past few months, but represents a 3% decline from April, when Biden's approval rating was 40%. It also represents a 16% decline from July 2021, when the president's approval rating was 53%.

"While Biden’s standing on these issues remains largely unchanged from the last time these questions were asked in April, this poll also illustrates that the economy is poised to be an extremely important factor in the midterm elections this November," an Ipsos news release said. 

According to Ipsos, about a quarter of Americans approve of Biden’s handling of both inflation (28%) and gas prices (27%). Even among Democrats, approval is not high, as progressive voters gave Biden a 56% approval rating on his handling of inflation, and 51% approval concerning gas prices.

The poll also found that among Americans who said they were very enthusiastic to vote in November, 66% say the economy will be extremely important in their vote, while 62% say the same about inflation. Fewer than 30% said COVID-19 will be extremely important, indicating the economy has far outpaced pandemic issues when it comes to Americans' concerns

The ABC News/Ipsos poll was conducted June 3-4 by Ipsos using the probability-based KnowledgePanel and is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 542 adults 18 years of age or older.

On June 10, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for the 12 months ending in May. The data showed an 8.6% all-items annual increase, which represents a 0.3% climb from last month and a new four-decade high. The largest contributors were increases in the indexes for shelter, gasoline and food.

After dropping in April, the index for gasoline climbed 4.1% during May and 48.7% in the last 12 months, according to BLS data. During April, the shelter index increased 0.6%, the largest monthly jump since March 2004. The food index also rose 1.2% in May, while the home index increased 1.4%.

The current average price for gas in North Carolina is $4.64 per gallon, according to AAA. Monday's $5.01 national gas price average represented "an all-time high never seen since AAA began collecting pricing data in 2000," a AAA news release said.