Gas prices have been rising rapidly for 32 days straight now. The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline has increased more than 13 percent $3.73, causing hardship for many Americans whose budgets were just hit by the Fiscal Cliff deal tax increases which included a two percent increase in Social Security taxes (FICA). This average gas price is a record for February.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr , many Americans feel that Wall Street is to blame for the high gas prices. Drivers in the US are looking for someone to blame for high gasoline prices. CNN says that the higher gas prices are being caused by rising crude oil prices on the Futures markets, oil refineries going down due to unanticipated maintenance, and OPEC is also believed to have cut production by about 1 million barrels a day in the last few months.
The citizens of California have been hit the worse. According to CBS , gas prices in Los Angeles have just peaked over $5.00 per gallon. Two-thirds of the cost of one gallon of gas comes from the price of crude, and CNS says that gas prices have risen 51 cents per gallon in just two months.
According to Keloland.com , people like realtor Dick Hahn rely on gas for their jobs and the high gas prices have noticeably affect their work:
“I fill it about every five or six days. It’s an impact. With my job, of course, I am out on the road and that’s how I make my living and I need to drive so it’s the cost of doing business and it’s something you work with.”
The average price of a gallon of gas has increased 96 percent since President Barack Obama first took office in 2009. Since January 19, 2009 the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline has risen from $1.838 to $3.611 as of February 11, 2013. Some people on Google+ believe that the economic decisions of the Obama administration are partially to blame:
“CNN Money conveniently forgets that crude is priced in USD. The Fed has been printing $85/mo to prop up the economy. That “free” money is going into assets like oil & gold. That’s why gasoline is going up. The economy is not recovering.”
This comment refers to the fact that the US dollar is slowly being devalued. If a dollar loses its value, it cannot purchase as much stuff as it previously could. Thus, any commodities, including oil, which are tied to the USD will become more expensive for Americans.
We could use some new refineries. And drilling here, #keystonepipeline : Gas Prices Spike From Last Month http://t.co/nNQ8lEP7
— Anne Leary (@backyardconserv) February 18, 2013
Why do you think gas prices are rising so rapidly?