Pump Prices Are Rising in US as Big Oil Profits Soar
- Biden asking oil companies to build stocks, cut share buybacks
- Low inventories at the root of price gains and spot shortages
A customer refuels at a gas station in San Francisco, California.
Photographer: David Paul Morris/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
US gasoline prices rose for the first time in 16 days, potentially posing a political challenge for the Biden administration ahead of elections even as it casts a spotlight on Big Oil’s massive profits.
The average national pump price inched up to $3.761 a gallon Friday, snapping a streak of declines seen as easing pressure on Democrats trying to keep control of Congress. The reversal is being driven by rising prices on the East Coast, where gasoline supplies are so tight that some terminals have reported running out of fuel.