Diesel Prices Hit All-Time High, Surpassing Biden-Era Record
U.S. diesel fuel prices hit a record high on Thursday, surpassing the previous surge set in 2022, according to GasBuddy.
The fuel price monitoring service reported on X, “the live U.S. national average price of diesel has set a new record: $5.820/gal, surpassing the previous daily $5.819/gal all-time high that occurred June 17, 2022.”
A year ago, diesel fuel averaged $3.70 a gallon, marking a rise of nearly 60% in the past 12 months due to both the Iran war and Russia’s war with Ukraine.
“The new record is likely to spread through the economy and feed inflation that could damage Republican prospects of keeping control of Congress in November’s midterm elections,” Politico reported.
In 2022, a gallon of regular unleaded reached a national average of $5.01. That number was $4.14 on Thursday, according to AAA.
Vice President JD Vance blamed Democrats for the high cost of living, including gas prices, when he answered reporters’ questions in the White House Briefing Room on Thursday.
“Gas, frankly, could have been much, much higher were it not for our efforts,” Vance said. “But I’m not going to make a promise about when it’s going to return to $3.”
On CNN’s The Arena Thursday afternoon, panelist Lulu Garcia-Navarro said gas prices could be the Republicans’ undoing at the midterms.
“You know how we know we’re at war?” Garcia-Navarro said to the panel. “You see the gas prices ticking up. That’s how people understand it.”
“Whatever JD Vance does say or doesn’t say, whatever we say here, it really doesn’t matter. They understand cause and effect,” she said of the American people. “And so the fact of the matter is whether the administration likes it or not, we are at war and it’s a war we’re not winning right now.”
Former Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI) agreed, “Our gas prices are back to kind of the median where they were in 2022, which is too high. It shouldn’t be that high.”
“I will say it is a little rich when Democrats complain about gas prices, given so much of their party platform is committed to essentially destroying the oil and gas industry and making it so highly taxed that it is unaffordable,” Meier said.
“We pumped more oil under the Biden administration than we had under any — ,” began Kate Bedingfield, before Meier cut her off.
“Very grudgingly! And [Barack] Obama later on came to to tout the wonderful shale revolution. But he only took credit in hindsight,” Meir said.
“Well, we certainly support clean energy, and we do support alternative methods, which will help bring prices down,” Bedingfield shot back.
Watch the clip above via CNN.
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