Drivers bemoan high gasoline prices with no relief in sight

May 10, 2022, 10:57 AM | Updated: May 11, 2022, 10:42 am
FILE - Gas prices are displayed at a BP gas station in Elgin, Ill., on March 19, 2022. Just as Amer...

FILE - Gas prices are displayed at a BP gas station in Elgin, Ill., on March 19, 2022. Just as Americans gear up for summer road trips, the price of oil remains stubbornly high, pushing prices at the gas pump to painful heights. AAA said Tuesday, May 10, 2022, drivers are paying $4.37 for a gallon of regular gasoline. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Just as Americans gear up for summer road trips, the price of oil remains stubbornly high, pushing prices at the gas pump to painful heights.

Drivers were paying $4.37 for a gallon of regular Tuesday, on average, according to AAA. That’s 25 cents higher than a month ago, and $1.40 more than a year ago.

“The price of gas is ridiculous,” said Joel Baxter, a nurse, who was filling up his car at a BP station in Brooklyn, New York, so that he could commute 26 miles (42 kilometers) to work. “The money, your salary, is practically the same, and everything is going up, so they should do something about it.”

The high price of oil is the main cause of the biting gasoline prices. A barrel of U.S. benchmark crude was selling for around $100 a barrel Tuesday, a price tag that has been climbing throughout the year. The high price of oil is largely because many buyers are refusing to purchase Russian oil because of its invasion of Ukraine. The European Union is considering an embargo on oil from Russia, which is a major supplier. Those pressures leave less oil to go around.

Drivers such as Baxter say they wish the government could step in to help, although few can say what solution that would bring lasting relief.

“There are very few things that a president can do to help lower the cost of oil, and this administration tried to do pretty much everything that it can,” said Andrew Gross, spokesman for AAA.

President Joe Biden released oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in November and March, hoping to reduce prices. That helped temporarily, but prices shot back up and stayed stubbornly high.

Biden in remarks Tuesday stressed that fighting inflation is his top priority, a sign of both the economic challenges caused by prices rising at the fastest pace in four decades and the political drag for Democrats that has resulted.

“I believe that inflation is our top economic challenge right now,” Biden said.

He said that switching away from fossil fuels and greater energy efficiency will ultimately protect Americans from higher gasoline and heating and cooling costs.

The president noted that Americans are finding ways to limit how many fill-ups they need because of higher prices. “They’re doing everything in their power to figure out how to not show up at the gas pump,” he said.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said a suspension of the federal gas tax is “an option on the table.” The suspension could in theory reduce gas prices by as much as 18 cents a gallon.

Republican lawmakers say the key is to lease more federal land for oil and gas drilling and send a positive message to energy producers by greenlighting the Keystone XL pipeline that Biden nixed last year.

As the war Russia is waging on Ukraine continues and demand for gasoline continues to grow, experts are not expecting relief at the pump any time soon.

“We will see this trend continue probably throughout summer, mainly because of demand,” Gross said. “The weather’s getting warmer. The days are getting nicer. People are hitting the road.”

That’s particularly hard on people who drive for a living, or those who must drive to get to work.

“It’s expensive,” said Peter Lector, 28, who spent $60 Tuesday to fill up his tank in Brooklyn. “I’m doing Uber, so it’s costing me a lot of money every morning.”

If the price of gasoline keeps going up, he feels like he might have to find another job, he said.

Still others have accepted that high gasoline prices may be here to stay.

“It is what it is,” said David Stephen, who was also buying gasoline in Brooklyn. “Everything goes up, never comes down …. You can’t do anything about it.”

___

AP video assignment manager Lisa Matthews in Washington contributed to this report. Boak reported from Washington.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Haitian migrant Gerson Solay, 28, carries his daughter, Bianca, as he and his family cross into Can...
Associated Press

US, Canada to end loophole that allows asylum-seekers to move between countries

President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday announced a plan to close a loophole to an immigration agreement.
1 day ago
Expert skateboarder Di'Orr Greenwood, an artist born and raised in the Navajo Nation in Arizona and...
Associated Press

Indigenous skateboard art featured on new stamps unveiled at Phoenix skate park

The Postal Service unveiled the “Art of the Skateboard" stamps at a Phoenix skate park, featuring designs from Indigenous artists.
1 day ago
(Facebook Photo/City of San Luis, Arizona)...
Associated Press

San Luis authorities receive complaints about 911 calls going across border

Authorities in San Luis say they are receiving more complaints about 911 calls mistakenly going across the border.
7 days ago
(Pexels Photo)...
Associated Press

Daylight saving time begins in most of US this weekend

No time change is observed in Hawaii, most of Arizona, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Marianas.
15 days ago
Mexican army soldiers prepare a search mission for four U.S. citizens kidnapped by gunmen in Matamo...
Associated Press

How the 4 abducted Americans in Mexico were located

The anonymous tip that led Mexican authorities to a remote shack where four abducted Americans were held described armed men and blindfolds.
15 days ago
Tom Brundy points to a newly built irrigation canal on one of the fields at his farm Tuesday, Feb. ...
Associated Press

Southwest farmers reluctant to idle farmland to save water

There is a growing sense that fallowing will have to be part of the solution to the increasingly desperate drought in the West.
22 days ago

Sponsored Articles

...
Quantum Fiber

How high-speed fiber internet edges out cable for everyday use

In a world where technology drives so much of our daily lives, a lack of high-speed internet can be a major issue.
...
Day & Night Air Conditioning, Heating and Plumbing

Prep the plumbing in your home just in time for the holidays

With the holidays approaching, it's important to know when your home is in need of heating and plumbing updates before more guests start to come around.
(Photo via MLB's Arizona Fall League / Twitter)...
Arizona Fall League

Top prospects to watch at this year’s Arizona Fall League

One of the most exciting elements of the MLB offseason is the Arizona Fall League, which began its 30th season Monday.
Drivers bemoan high gasoline prices with no relief in sight