Price declines

The retail price of gasoline at filling stations in the US fell nine cents a gallon (3.785 litres) over the week due to a temporary drop in demand. This is evidenced by data from the American Automobile Association, which tracks rates at more than 60,000 gas stations in the country.

According to the association, the price per gallon of Regular on Wednesday morning averaged $4.779, down from $4.868 last week. This is due to the fact that US residents have been refuelling their cars less frequently over the past two weeks.

The organisation believes that retail prices will soon go back up again due to the start of the holiday season. "July tends to be the toughest month in terms of demand with large numbers of Americans hitting the roads, so the downward trend in prices may be short-lived," explained the association's expert.

Last week, US President Joe Biden called on petrol station owners to reduce petrol prices immediately. According to the Commerce Department, the country's GDP declined at an annualised rate of 1.6 per cent in the first quarter of this year.

The Labour Department said US consumer prices rose 8.6% year-on-year in May, the biggest increase since December 1981. In order to fight inflation, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate in mid-June by an immediate 0.75p to 1.5-1.75%.

Also, "With gasoline prices rising more than $1.70 a gallon, the historically high profitability of refineries is adding to the pain," U.S. President Joe Biden wrote in a June 15 letter to ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, Phillips 66, BP and other executives.