The price of gasoline at the pump on Saturday climbed for the first time above the threshold of 5 dollars on average per gallon of premium (3.78 liters) in the United States, according to data from the American Association of motorists (AAA).
This level, a record, fuels inflation and represents bad news for Joe Biden a few months before a crucial electoral deadline, which will see the renewal of a large part of the elected representatives of Congress.
The average price of a gallon of gasoline, which was $3.077 a year ago, has since soared by 62%. The current price corresponds to around 1.30 francs per litre, Americans being accustomed to less taxed and cheaper gasoline than in Europe.
Energy prices are soaring
According to figures released Friday by the US administration, energy prices as a whole soared 34.6% in May compared to May 2021.
This surge helped fuel the general rise in US consumer priceswhich rose 8.6% year on year in May, a 40-year high.
As the season for major car trips for the holidays approaches and while Americans often favor fuel-guzzling models, the increase in prices at the pump will put a further strain on the budget of motorists, who must also in the face of rising food prices (+10.1% in May), housing, cars and even medical care.
Political stake
This complicates the position of Joe Biden, who has been repeating for several months that his administration is doing everything possible to bring down prices without slowing down economic activity and must face in a few months the mid-term elections, which will renew a large part of the elected members of Congress.
On Friday, the American president once again attacked the American oil industry, which he warned against “using” the situation in Ukraine “to make things worse for families, make excessive profits or drive up prices”.
The United States will have to “live with inflation for a while”, acknowledged Joe Biden on Friday in California, after a further acceleration in the rise in consumer prices in May.
“It will come down gradually but we will live with it for a while,” added Joe Biden.
Rising consumer prices continue to spread to new goods and services as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine weighs on global oil and food supplies.
afp/cab