美国总统乔·拜登(Joe Biden)周五吹捧油价下跌、强劲的新就业数据和低失业率，以证明他的经济计划和降低通胀的努力正在“奏效”
“失业率接近3.6%的历史低点。私营部门的就业机会创历史新高，”他在白宫一次关于堕胎的活动上说。“汽油价格仍然太高，已经连续下跌了25天。本周，我们目睹了十年来油价第二大单日跌幅。我们还有很多工作要做...但我认为我们正在取得重大进展。该计划正在发挥作用。”
根据AAA的数据，周五全国平均每加仑汽油为4.72美元，比周四下降了3美分，比上周同期下降了约12美分。
根据美国汽车协会的数据，6月14日，汽油平均价格达到每加仑5.01美元的峰值，本周原油价格自5月11日以来首次跌破每桶100美元。
随着全球大宗商品需求放缓，原油、铜、棉花和木材价格下跌，加油站的压力减轻了。
“我认为油价现在下跌的原因是因为我们确实看到了经济放缓的前景，”GasBuddy的石油分析主管帕特里克·德哈恩周四告诉ABC新闻。
如果这种趋势持续下去，在11月中期选举之前，潜在的经济衰退可能会给拜登和民主党人带来政治问题。建设强大的经济是民主党2020年政纲的优先事项。
“但是，如果突然之间，对经济衰退的担忧消退，我们可以看到油价会回升，”德哈恩说。
飓风在炼油厂附近登陆，比如路易斯安那州的炼油厂，也可能导致价格上涨。
德哈恩说，在未来几周，美国人在一些州的加油站支付的价格可能会平均每加仑再下降25至50美分。
全国各地的一些电视台已经将价格降到了3美元左右。
总统周五的讲话是白宫在很大程度上不成功的努力中的最新一次，以反击关于加油站价格飙升的破坏性每日头条新闻。
最初将价格上涨归因于俄罗斯入侵乌克兰的提议，变成了暂停征收联邦天然气税三个月。但是该计划在国会的共和党人和民主党人中几乎没有得到支持。一些共和党参议员称停止18美分税收的提议是一个噱头，而一些民主党人则表示这可能不会奏效。
总统还在6月提出向美国人提供折扣卡，但《华盛顿邮报》报道称，芯片短缺将使生产这种卡具有挑战性。
美国能源部长詹妮弗·格兰霍姆(Jennifer Granholm)上个月晚些时候会见了石油高管，讨论他们的公司如何帮助减轻加油站的痛苦，但一些分析师表示，目前的价格下跌不太可能与政府的游说努力有关。
投资研究公司Third Bridge的全球能源主管彼得·麦克纳利(Peter McNally)表示，原油价格下跌和需求疲软导致天然气成本下降，该行业也在努力解决库存成本上升的问题。
麦克纳利周四说:“这是降低加油站的价格，而不是总统告诉街角的加油站这样做。”
白宫本周加倍下注，周四再次呼吁国会暂停联邦汽油税，周五指责俄罗斯入侵乌克兰。
白宫新闻秘书郭佳欣·让-皮埃尔周四对记者说:“汽油批发价格每加仑下降了1美元。”。“同期，汽油零售价格仅下降了约20美分。需要做更多的工作。”
德哈恩说，但是加油站正在慢慢降低价格，因为他们试图从价格上涨时夺回一些利润。他说，当加油站的成本上涨长达5天时，它们就落后于形势，因为如果其他加油站不调整价格，就很难提价。
休斯顿大学石油工程教授Ramanan Krishnamoorti周四表示，白宫和美联储认识到通货膨胀是一个严重的挑战，应该得到一些信任。
他说，美联储上个月加息“肯定减缓了我们在通胀中看到的一些价格繁荣”。
今年迄今，政府从战略石油储备中释放了1亿桶石油，这也起到了帮助作用。麦克纳利说，释放石油增加了市场供应，可能会阻止价格上涨。
Biden says falling gas prices show his 'program is working'
President Joe Biden on Friday touted falling gas prices, robust new jobs numbers and a low unemployment rate to make the case that his economic program and fight to bring inflation down is "working."
"The unemployment rate is near a historic low of 3.6%. The private sector jobs are at a record high," he said at a White House event about abortion. "Gas prices are still way too high, and have fallen 25 days in a row. And this week we saw the second largest single day decrease in gas prices in a decade. We still have a lot of work to do ... But I am suggesting we are making significant progress. The program is working."
The national average for a gallon of gas stood at $4.72 Friday, down three cents from Thursday and about 12 cents since this time last week, according to AAA.
The average cost for gas peaked at $5.01 per gallon on June 14, according to AAA, and the price of crude oil fell below $100 per barrel this week for the first time since May 11.
Relief at the pump comes as global demand for commodities slows, resulting in lower prices for crude oil copper, cotton, and lumber.
"I think the reason why oil prices are going down now is because the prospect that we do see an economic slowdown," GasBuddy's head of petroleum analysis Patrick De Haan told ABC News Thursday.
If that trend continues, a potential recession could prove politically problematic for Biden and fellow Democrats ahead of the midterm elections in November. Building a strong economy was a priority in the Democratic party's 2020 platform.
"But, if all of a sudden, the worries over the recession fade, we can see oil prices go right back up," De Haan said.
A hurricane making landfall near a refinery, such as one in Louisiana, could also cause prices to rise.
In the coming weeks, what Americans pay at the pump in some states could fall another 25 to 50 cents per gallon on average, De Haan said.
Some stations around the country have already lowered prices to the mid-three-dollar range.
The president's remarks Friday are the latest in a largely unsuccessful White House effort to counter damaging daily headlines about skyrocketing prices at the pump.
What began with attributing the rise in prices to Russia's invasion of Ukraine became a proposal to suspend the federal gas tax for three months. But that plan found little support among Republicans and Democrats in Congress. Some Republican senators called the proposal to halt the 18-cent tax a gimmick, while some Democrats said it might not work.
The president also floated offering rebate cards to Americans in June, but the Washington Post reported a chip shortage would make it challenging to produce the cards.
Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm then met with top oil executives late last month to discuss how their companies might help ease pain at the pump, but some analysts say it is unlikely the current price drop is related to the administration's lobbying efforts.
The falling price of crude oil and weakened demand have driven the cost of gas down and the industry is also working through higher-cost inventory, according to investment research firm Third Bridge's global lead for energy Peter McNally.
"That is bringing prices at the pump down, not the president telling the corner gas station to do it," McNally said Thursday.
The White House doubled down this week, again calling for Congress to suspend the federal gas tax Thursday and blaming Russia's invasion of Ukraine Friday.
"Wholesale gas prices are down by $1 per gallon," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Thursday. "Retail gas prices have only come down by about 20 cents over the same period. More work needs to be done."
But gas stations are slowly lowering their prices as they try to recapture some of their margins from when prices rose, De Haan said. Stations are behind the curve when their costs rise for up to five days, as raising prices is difficult if other stations do not adjust theirs, he said.
The White House and the Federal Reserve deserve some credit for recognizing inflation as a serious challenge, University of Houston petroleum engineering professor Ramanan Krishnamoorti said Thursday.
The FED raising interest rates last month "certainly slowed down some of the price exuberance we've seen with inflation," he said.
The government's release of 100 million oil barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve year-to-date has also helped. Releasing oil has added supply to the market, likely preventing prices from going higher, McNally said.
