Biden says the price of gas was 'over five dollars' when he took office, data shows it was $2.39...Biden also claimed that the 'price of inflation is down'
www.foxbusiness.com ^ | 27 October 2022 | By Adam Sabes
Posted on 10/28/2022, 10:26:02 AM by Red Badger
President Biden said during a Thursday speech that the price of gasoline was "over five dollars" when he took office, despite the actual average price of regular gasoline being $2.39.
Biden made the comment during a speech on the CHIPS Act in Syracuse, New York.
"The most common price of gas in America is $3.39, down from over five dollars when I took office," Biden said. "We need to keep making that progress by having energy companies bring down the cost of a gallon of gas that reflects the cost of paying for a barrel of oil."
However, the national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in the week ending Jan. 25, 2021, shortly after Biden took office, was $2.39, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline didn't hit $5 until June 2022, which is well over a year after Biden took office.
According to AAA, the current national average for a gallon of regular gasoline is $3.76, over 30 cents more than Biden claimed Thursday.
He also commented on the gross domestic product figure released on Thursday, showing that the U.S. economy grew by 2.6% on an annualized basis during the months of July through September.
"The economy, in fact, is growing. In fact, the economy grew at 2.6% rate last quarter. And although it may not feel like for everyone, people's incomes went up last quarter more than inflation went up. So economic growth is up, the price of inflation is down. Real incomes are up and the price of gas is down. Folks continue to spend, but now a more stable pace than during our rapid recovery last year. Businesses continue to invest in America," Biden said.
The Labor Department recently released updated consumer price index figures showing that prices for everyday goods including groceries, rent and gasoline rose 0.4% in September when compared to the previous month.
That figure was above the forecasted 0.2% projected monthly increase forecast from Refinitiv economists.
Core prices, which exclude food and energy, rose by 0.6%.
Prices for groceries increased by 0.7% in September, and 13% over the past 12 months.
FOX Business' Megan Henney contributed to this report.
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