Biden says lower gas prices mean fewer prices

74
2
Biden says lower gas prices mean fewer prices

President Biden said that there was a drop in oil prices on Monday, but he urged energy companies to lower the price at the pump for consumers.

We haven't seen the lower prices at the pump. The oil and gas companies are still making record profits, and billions of dollars in profits, according to Biden at a meeting with the White House Competition Council.

My message is simple. The companies that run gas stations and set their prices at the pump: Bring down prices you are charging at the pump to reflect the price you're paying for the product. The US benchmark, the WTI Crude, was sitting at about $76.52 a barrel on Monday after falling over the last three months from its high of $122.10 on June 7.

The average gallon of gas has dropped over the past three months, with the average gallon of gas at $3.725 a gallon on Monday, according to AAA, down from a high for the year of $5.016 on June 14.

The price of gas at the pump is primarily affected by the price of crude oil, but is also affected by local, state and federal taxes and distribution costs, such as rent and employee salaries.

Many gas stations are owned by independent businesses that purchase gas from refiners and market it to the public, while some refiners own and operate retail outlets directly.

Biden's comments on Monday echoed a letter that he sent to oil and gas companies in June, instructing them to lower gas prices amid historically high refinery profit margins. Industry leaders argued that the rising prices of refining oil have shot up in recent months because of the rising prices of other costs associated with refining oil.

American Petroleum Institute CEO Mike Sommers wrote to the president that your letter conflates refining margins with crack-spreads, which do not account for operating costs that are being driven higher by record inflation.