Average prices are even higher in certain states, topping $4 in California and parts of the Pacific Northwest.
After surpassing $3 a gallon for the first time in more than half a decade in the spring, the average cost of a gallon has steadily trickled up. Experts say there are multiple factors for the increase, from pandemic-related supply issues to Hurricane Ida, and are forecasting that energy prices will continue to rise in the coming months.
Biden adds, the two largest oil and gas companies in the U.S., as measured by market capitalization, are on track to nearly double their net income over 2019, the last full year before the Covid pandemic.
“I do not accept hard-working Americans paying more for gas because of anti-competitive or otherwise potentially illegal contact,” said Biden.
The American Petroleum Institute refuted the claims in the letter, citing increased demand as the economy comes back and is outpacing supply.
“Rather than launching investigations on markets that are regulated and closely monitored on a daily basis or pleading with OPEC [Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries] to increase supply, we should be encouraging the safe and responsible development of American-made oil and natural gas,” said API senior vice president of policy, economics, and regulatory affairs Frank Macchiarola.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
