U.S. President Joe Biden will today unveil plans to extend the availability of higher biofuels-blended gasoline during summer to curb soarin...
U.S. President Joe Biden will today unveil plans to extend the availability of higher biofuels-blended gasoline during summer to curb soaring fuel costs and to cut reliance on foreign energy sources, senior administration officials said.
The move will allow Americans to keep buying E15, a gasoline that uses a 15 per cent ethanol blend, from June 1 to Sept. 15, in an attempt to help lower fuel expenses.
'Those savings can add up, especially during the summer months,' a senior administration official said.
Biden's fuel announcement will coincide with the release of March's consumer price index report as the administration tries to get ahead of more dire inflation news.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said during Monday's briefing that the White House expected 'headline inflation to be extraordinarily elevated due to Putin's price hike.'
But a reporter pointed out later in the briefing that rising inflation predated Putin's war in Ukraine.
Last month's report showed the CPI jumped up to 7.9 per cent in February, the biggest hike in 40 years.
But today's CPI report is expected to show that consumer prices increased 8.4 per cent in the year through March according to economists in a Bloomberg survey, outstripping February figures by another 0.5 per cent.
U.S. President Joe Biden (pictured yesterday in Washington) will unveil plans on Tuesday to extend the availability of higher biofuels-blended gasoline during summer to curb soaring fuel costs and to cut reliance on foreign energy sources, senior administration officials said
Biden's fuel announcement will coincide with the release of March's consumer price index report as the administration tries to get ahead of more dire inflation news. Last month's report showed the CPI jumping up to 7.9 per cent in February, the biggest hike in 40 years
Biden's administration is trying to get ahead of more dire inflation news, with press secretary Jen Psaki (right) saying Monday that 'headline inflation to be extraordinarily elevated due to Putin's price hike'
Biden will make the E15 extension announcement during a visit to POET Bioprocessing, the largest biofuels producer in the United States in Menlo, Iowa.
While E15 is only 10 cents cheaper on average and is less 'energy dense,' meaning drivers would need to buy more fuel, it should still help lower fuel expenses, senior administration officials told reporters on a call previewing the announcement.
To make the change, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to issue a national emergency waiver closer to June, the officials said. The EPA is also considering additional action to allow for the use of E15 year-round, the White House said.
But success is not guaranteed. The courts struck down a prior bid by Biden's predecessor, Republican Donald Trump, in 2019 to extend a waiver that allowed year-round sales of E15.
The officials previewing Biden's announcement said his administration would us a different 'approach' and 'authority' than Trump, but did not offer details.
They also said the EPA would work with states to ensure there would be no 'significant' negative impact on summer air quality due to the extended sale of E15, whose use in the hottest months is restricted due to smog-related concerns.
Last month, Biden announced the United States would sell 180 million barrels of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve at a rate of 1 million barrels per day starting in May, the biggest release from the stockpile since it was created in the 1970s.
The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in the US peaked on March 11 at $4.33.
Prices now sit around $4.11, with researchers theorizing that prices will moderate as the consumer purchase rate of products like cars and appliances slows and strained supply chains manage to catch up.
Gasoline Pump sticker blaming US President Biden and protesting inflation of prices at gas pump
A sticker of the US president satirically placed at a gas station in protest of high gas prices
March's consumer price index report will be released today, as the White House braces for backlash in the face of elevated inflation.
Last month's report showed a price increase of 7.9 per cent in February, marking the highest spike in 40 years.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the monthly reports, which measure prices for goods and services Americans buy - including gasoline, milk, eggs and cell phones.
There are two versions of CPI data - a headline number, which includes all the prices consumers face, and core CPI, which excludes energy and food prices, which can be more volatile.
'We expect a large difference between core and headline inflation, reflecting the global disruptions in energy and food markets,' Psaki said during yesterday's White House briefing.
'And, of course, we know that core inflation, you know, energy - the impact of energy, of course, on oil prices, gas prices, we expect that to continue to reflect what we've seen the increases be over the course of this invasion.'
March's consumer price index report will be released today, as the White House braces for backlash in the face of elevated inflation (Biden pictured yesterday)
She noted that since Russian President Vladimir Putin started amassing Russian troops on Ukraine's border in January, gas prices have gone up more than 80 cents, with most of that increase happening last month.
'So that roughly 25 per cent increase in gas prices will drive tomorrow's inflation reading,' the press secretary said. 'And certainly, it's not a surprise to us, but we certainly think it will be reflected.'
She also pointed to the average cost of a barrel of oil, which at the beginning of 2022 was $75 a barrel and now stands around $110 a barrel.
Psaki also used the opportunity to promote Biden's Build Back Better bill, which was derailed by Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin in December after much criticism.
'I will say that anytime there is heightened monthly data or inflation reporting or numbers, it is a reminder to us, to our allies on the Hill, and hopefully to many of the American people that we need to do more to reduce costs for the American people,' Psaki said.
'We have, of course, legislation that could do exactly that: cut the costs of childcare, of healthcare, of eldercare.'
'These all have enormous impacts on people's budgets; on when they're, you know, doing those calculations at their kitchen table,' she added.
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