Gas prices fall below $4 for 1st time since March
ABC NEWSAug 11, 2022
Gas prices in the US fell below $4 a gallon on Thurs., well below the mid-June peak of $5.02 and retreating to their lowest since March.
Despite this decline, it's still roughly 25% above the $3.18 national average a year ago. According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), the average price has fallen for 58 consecutive days.
Pres. Biden has been working hard for months to lower the cost of gas for American consumers, and it has finally paid off. Due to his strategic release of oil from the reserve and advocating for oil companies to lower profits and increase production, prices are starting to return to normal.
While this is certainly positive news for Americans, we should not let Pres. Biden take credit for the drop in gas prices. Let's not forget he inherited a $2.39 average when he first took office and then blocked the expansion of domestic oil pipelines, so this is surely no thanks to the current administration.
Let's not jump the gun; the recent drop in gas prices isn't a sign of a recovering economy, but rather a symptom of yet another potential economic setback: demand destruction, whereby costs are so high that consumers can't afford to keep spending. If we continue on this path, American confidence in the economy will continue to fall, and we could see a permanent decrease in demand, which would have far-reaching implications.
There's a 50% chance that the CPI inflation measured in 2022 will be at most 9.38%, according to the Metaculus prediction community.