(The Guardian) Opec+ oil production cut threatens to hike US gas prices ahead of midterms
After declining through much of the summer, gas prices may be set to increase again in the weeks before the midterm elections, after the Opec+ group of oil producing nations agreed to a deep cut in crude production today.
Reuters reports that the cut is the deepest since the Covid-19 pandemic struck in 2020, and is intended to push oil prices higher, despite the White House pressuring the bloc not to go through with it. Higher oil prices globally mean higher prices at gas stations across the United States, further squeezing the wallets of Americans grappling with inflation that has climbed at rates not seen since the 1980s. Yesterday, gasoline market analyst Patrick DeHaan predicted a production cut could undercut the recent downward trend in pump prices:
The economy is expected to play a major role in the midterm elections, where Joe Biden’s Democratic party is fighting to retain control of the Senate and House of Representatives. The importance of oil to public opinion was illustrated over the summer, when a spike in gasoline prices pushed Biden’s approval rating even further into unpopular territory.
After declining through much of the summer, gas prices may be set to increase again in the weeks before the midterm elections, after the Opec+ group of oil producing nations agreed to a deep cut in crude production today.
Reuters reports that the cut is the deepest since the Covid-19 pandemic struck in 2020, and is intended to push oil prices higher, despite the White House pressuring the bloc not to go through with it. Higher oil prices globally mean higher prices at gas stations across the United States, further squeezing the wallets of Americans grappling with inflation that has climbed at rates not seen since the 1980s. Yesterday, gasoline market analyst Patrick DeHaan predicted a production cut could undercut the recent downward trend in pump prices:
The economy is expected to play a major role in the midterm elections, where Joe Biden’s Democratic party is fighting to retain control of the Senate and House of Representatives. The importance of oil to public opinion was illustrated over the summer, when a spike in gasoline prices pushed Biden’s approval rating even further into unpopular territory.
