Tennessee’s gas prices are once again on the rise after Saudi Arabia and its allies in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced that it would cut oil output by two million barrels per day.
Monday, a gallon of gas in the Volunteer State averaged $3.39, up from last Monday’s average of $3.19, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).
At this time one month ago, a gallon of gas cost $3.28 in Tennessee. A year ago, the price was $3.01.
Gas prices are highest in Jackson and Memphis, where the average cost of a gallon of gas is $3.45. Nashville clocked in at $3.42 per gallon. Gas is cheapest in Johnson City, at $3.29 per gallon.
OPEC announced oil export cuts late last week, leading to the surge in gas prices in Tennessee and across the country.
Gas prices had been declining after hitting their highest recorded price per gallon in history on June 12. That day, the average price of a gallon of gas was $4.64 in Tennessee.
Meanwhile, left-wing political commentators worry that rising gas prices could hurt President Joe Biden and Democrats during the midterm elections.
Hossein Askari, who teaches international business at George Washington University, commented on the situation.
“For gasoline, I think Americans can see maybe prices going up from where they are today, if nothing else happens, by about another 30 to 50 cents a gallon,” he told CNN in an article titled “Biden has a big oil problem. Here’s what you need to know about the recent OPEC+ decision.”
“However, there is also another problem for Americans that is home heating oil, and that can also go up. So for the average American, they’re going to pay, no matter what, something more per gallon of gasoline at the pump,” Askari said. “And I think there’s going to be more of an impact, actually, on the fuel oil that they heat their houses with. So it’s gonna put on the squeeze on the average American. There’s no two ways about it.”
The Biden administration first saw gas prices rise sharply when the war between Russia and Ukraine began.
But prices at the pump had been rising before that.
Biden’s administration gave up on American energy independence when the president revoked the federal permit to build the pipeline at the beginning of his term in office.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Gas Price” by Bev Sykes. CC BY 2.0.
