RI Gas Prices Have Been Going Up for 30 Consecutive Weeks
Tuesday, November 23, 2021
This week, AAA reported that average gas prices per gallon in Rhode Island are up again — this time just one cent, but the prices have been going up, week in and week out, since April.
According to Mark Schieldrop of AAA, “The last time gas prices did not go up this year was in April, when they fell one cent from $2.78 to $2.77, according to our April 5 survey. Prices remained at $2.77 for three weeks until April 26 when they increased to $2.80."
“They have ticked upward every week since then. Going from the April 26 survey when they increased from $2.77 to $2.80, it has been 30 straight weeks of increases to today,” he added.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTToday, the average price of a gallon of gas in is $3.42.
Biden Taps Strategic Petroleum Reserve
On Tuesday, the Biden White House announced the release of 50 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to "lower prices for Americans and address the mismatch between demand exiting the pandemic and supply."
In the past, presidents tapping the reserves have been in effective at lowering oil prices in the long-term.
According to the White House, “The President has been working with countries across the world to address the lack of supply as the world exits the pandemic. And, as a result of President Biden’s leadership and our diplomatic efforts, this release will be taken in parallel with other major energy consuming nations including China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom. This culminates weeks of consultations with countries around the world, and we are already seeing the effect of this work on oil prices. Over the last several weeks as reports of this work became public, oil prices are down nearly 10 percent.”
The White House Announces Following Specifics:
The U.S. Department of Energy will make available releases of 50 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in two ways:
32 million barrels will be an exchange over the next several months, releasing oil that will eventually return to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in the years ahead. The exchange is a tool matched to today’s specific economic environment, where markets expect future oil prices to be lower than they are today, and helps provide relief to Americans immediately and bridge to that period of expected lower oil prices. The exchange also automatically provides for re-stocking of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve over time to meet future needs.
18 million barrels will be an acceleration into the next several months of a sale of oil that Congress had previously authorized.
The President stands ready to take additional action, if needed, and is prepared to use his full authorities working in coordination with the rest of the world to maintain adequate supply as we exit the pandemic.
Even as the President is helping to lead the world in addressing oil supply imbalances, he is also focused on how consolidation in the oil and gas sector may be resulting in anti-competitive practices that keep American consumers from benefitting when oil prices fall. There is mounting evidence that declines in oil prices are not translating into lower prices at the pump. Last week, the President asked the Federal Trade Commission to examine what is going on in oil and gas markets and to consider “whether illegal conduct is costing families at the pump.”
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