As the cost of crude oil increases, Arizona has some of the highest gas prices in the country. | Mehluli Hikwa/Unsplash
As the cost of crude oil increases, Arizona has some of the highest gas prices in the country. | Mehluli Hikwa/Unsplash
Inflation rose to 8.5% in March as the Biden administration continues to place blame on Putin and Russia's war with Ukraine. Some experts have noted that inflation has risen steadily since President Joe Biden entered office in January 2021.
Across the U.S., residents are feeling what the Biden administration describes as the effects of Russia's ongoing war with Ukraine in Europe, including the largest year-over-year increase in inflation since 1981, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Despite the rapid increase in gas prices in the wake of the war, numbers from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis found that American gas prices climbed 13.6% from the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine to this week. That is less than half of the price increase that took place from the time Biden took office until the start of the war.
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis also reported that from the time Biden took office to the week of the Russian invasion of Ukraine — the week of January 18, 2021, to the week of February 14, 2022 — American gas prices climbed a steep 32.8%.
"On the day that President Biden took office, the average gallon of gas was $2.38," Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) said on Twitter recently. "At the time of Putin's invasion of Ukraine, the average price was $3.53. This isn't Putin's price hike — it's because of Joe Biden."
The BLS earlier this week released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for the 12 months ending in March. This data showed an 8.5% all-items annual increase, which is the largest increase in over 40 years. The report found that gasoline, shelter, and food indexes were the largest contributors to the seasonally adjusted all-items increase, with March's gasoline index rising 18.3% and accounting for over half of the all-items monthly increase.
Coining the term "PutinPriceHike" on Twitter, Biden has blamed the rise in American prices, particularly gas prices, on the Russian war with Ukraine since early March. His administration has frequently maintained that rising prices have nothing to do with its policies, according to Fox News.
Arizona continues to see some of the highest gas prices in the country. The American Automobile Association (AAA) reported that the average price of gasoline in Arizona was $4.57 per gallon as of April 15.
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