No, the president of the United States does not influence gas price increases

[SheltieLover]

https://www.localmemphis.com/article/news/verify/national-verify/president-of-the-united-states-does-not-influence-gas-price-increases/536-ce195489-79b7-45ac-8eff-1a12001c04c1

Gas prices this Memorial Day weekend are expected to be the most expensive since 2014, AAA says.

snip

When asked if President Joe Biden is responsible for the higher gas prices across the country during this Memorial Day weekend, Jeanette McGee, AAA’s director of external communications, told VERIFY that the American Automobile Association is often asked how presidents and their decisions in office can impact gas prices.

“The bottom line is gas prices fluctuate no matter who's in the White House,” said McGee. “If you look at the past 16 years, prices were up and down no matter who was there.”

A graph from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows that retail gas prices have fluctuated from 1994 to 2020, no matter who was in office.

More at link, incuding said graph. For those of you with strong stomachs, who like to confront maskholes on social media...

[doc03]

1. A friend of mine that owned a gas station

told me he got called 7 times one day to change his prices. He ended up with the same price at the end of the day as in the morning. On that very day oil executives were testifying in Congress that there was no price fixing in the oil industry.

[SheltieLover]

3. Pffffft - no price fixing in the oil industry...

[fescuerescue]

17. Honestly that sounds more like market chasing (and getting whipsawed)

than price fixing.

Price fixing is a usually a little more cloak and dagger and not so frantic.

[no_hypocrisy]

2. That's b/c Trump had the delusion that as POTUS, he could order OPEC to

"turn on the spigots" at his demand. Google the articles from 2016 and 2018.

MAGAts believe that Biden has the same magic power and he's just not going to use it.

[tableturner]

4. Simple...pandemic is lessening, activities like driving, flying, shipping increasing.

Republicans use the "post hoc, ergo propter hoc" (after this, therefore because of this) fallacy of logic......"Biden became president, gas prices are going up, therefore it's Biden's fault". I guess if they blink their eyes, followed a moment later by thunder, they'd say the eye blinking caused the lightning and thunder.

Edited to add: Ultimately, I guess it actually is Biden's fault IN A GOOD WAY because his effective pandemic response opened up society and human activity, leading to greater petroleum usage.

[luv2fly]

5. Of course not, he doesn't have time

He's way too busy stealing all the Chick-fil-A sauce

[MyOwnPeace]

6. ALWAYS .........

playing the BULLSHIT, no matter what the FACTS are.

PRESIDENT OBAMA saved our country from a serious depression. He got a plan enacted in spite of Moscow Mitch's vow to make it a 1-term presidency. The plan he was able to get through worked Critics complained it wasn't 'enough' (hey, remember the Moscow Mitch thing?) and of course the Repubs claimed it wasn't enough/it didn't work/or it did work thanks to them!

His 'Recovery Plan' saved the American auto industry. Giant loans got them through the crisis and they now are striving again. one company, Ford Motor, did NOT take government loans ( loans that were paid off early by those that did!). President Biden went to Ford to promote his "Clean Energy Plan" - cut the use of fossil fuel by producing electric vehicles.

American product? - Yep! Good!!
Reduce pollution? - Yep! Good!!

RepubliQan response: He went to the only company that did NOT take "Obama's 'charity' loan - they did it the "American way" - without a "government hand-out" - if it is a "hand-out" that the RepubliQans did not support - ie: a 'tax cut' that would benefit the RepubliQans.

SUCH F**KING HYPOCRITS!!!!!!!

[Mr.Bill]

12. The American car companies

paid back the loans with interest. That doesn't fit the definition of "charity handouts".

Ford borrowed money from foreign banks instead.

[MyOwnPeace]

13. I know - and GM made a BIG DEAL about it!

But again (and you add another bit of 'fact' - Ford borrowing from foreign banks) - facts don't matter when they don't match the story they want to tell.

[Rhiannon12866]

7. Gas prices generally increase this time of year when they switch to the "summer blend."

Refiners reduce the chance of gas evaporation in your car during the summer by producing gasoline blends that have lower Reid vapor pressure (RVP), or lower volatility. These blends vary from state-to-state, region-to-region due to RVP state regulations. They also vary by octane level.

[ProfessorGAC]

10. Don't Put Too Much Stock In That, Rhiannon

That "fact" has been around for a few decades, started by....you guessed it...the petroleum industry.
Flaw 1:
Nearly 50% of the country lives in a climate where no summer blend is needed.
Flaw 2:
The "summer blend" is made by taking a slightly higher cut in the final distillation phase.
This means the refineries build extra alkenes, which are blended off later. This cuts slightly into kerosene & diesel yields for a while.
But, they have more complicated contracts with airlines & power producers, so there's less wholesale price flexibility.
Flaw 3:
An extension of #2, the actual incurred cost is the incremental inventory carrying costs of the excess "anes". There is really no significant increase in the cost to produce the gasoline.
Flaw 4:
The incremental increase should really affect kerosene & diesel, or at least a shared cost absorption of the variable overhead cost.
Basically, the "summer blend" is a propaganda piece to excuse otherwise unjustified seasonal price increases for refined fuel.
The real reason is because they can and since people have gotten used to it, there's no huge blowback each year.
This is is one of those things you'll find in a few thousand spots on the internet, and broadly accepted as fact.
But, it's not fact to any cost significant degree.

[fescuerescue]

18. And they also increase in the other half the year due to the switch to "winter blend"

No matter what season..it's more!

[WarGamer]

8. look at a 10 year graph of gasoline prices

highs and lows in EVERY administration.

[ProfessorGAC]

11. Spot On!

Gas prices were higher than now, twice during T***p's ONE(!!) term.
Overall inflation of around 2.3% says it will take continued increases to exceed the high point during the FG's time.
Then, we did have the Texas freeze and refinery shutdowns, then morons blocking the Suez canal stopping crude from getting to Europe, then the pipeline scare all within about 14 weeks.
No president ever could have influenced those events in either direction.

[ansible]

9. I'm paying $4.12 a gallon right now

And it's not even peak summer yet. Jesus fucking Christ...

[struggle4progress]

14. Here are the inflation-adjusted average May $/gallon gas prices over 20 years:

2000 1.50 1.526 2.29
2001 1.44 1.738 2.5
2002 1.43 1.434 2.05
2003 1.40 1.539 2.15
2004 1.36 2.023 2.75
2005 1.32 2.205 2.91
2006 1.27 2.953 3.75
2007 1.23 3.187 3.92
2008 1.18 3.815 4.5
2009 1.20 2.316 2.78
2010 1.18 2.890 3.41
2011 1.13 3.960 4.47
2012 1.12 3.791 4.25
2013 1.10 3.675 4.04
2014 1.08 3.750 4.05
2015 1.08 2.802 3.03
2016 1.07 2.371 2.54
2017 1.05 2.503 2.63
2018 1.02 2.987 3.05
2019 1.00 2.946 2.95
2020 1.00 1.961 1.96

The first column is the year.

The second column is the inflation adjustment from May of that year to May 2020, from the CPI inflation calculator at https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm

The third column is the average $/gallon price of gas, from the EIA site https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=EMM_EPM0_PTE_NUS_DPG&f=M

The fourth column is the inflation-adjusted gas price (obtained by multiplying the second and third columns)

[Warren_Pointe]

15. I blame michelle bachmann

she'd take credit if it were low.

[kskiska]

16. Yesterday my refrigerator repairman

told me that the high prices of new appliances and the cost of building materials like plywood all began when Biden took office.