Keystone Today

As inflation reaches historic levels, residents in Pennsylvania and across the U.S. are feeling the pressure and paying more at the pump as the national Gasoline Misery Index shows that Americans are paying significantly more for gas this year than they did last year.

The latest numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that inflation has reached 8.5%, impacting prices across the board and hurting Americans' finances. Record-high gasoline prices still average above $4 per gallon, as Friday's national average price per gallon reported at $4.07, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA). 

The national Gasoline Misery Index tracks how much more (or less) the average American consumer will have to spend on gasoline on an annualized basis. Numbers are compiled using gas price data from AAA, average fuel efficiency (mpg) data from the U.S. Department of Energy, and average miles driven from MetroMile.com, the index tracks the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline and adjusts using the average miles traveled by the average miles per gallon of American cars.

The latest index shows the average American will spend an average of $636 more this year than they did last year. In the state of Pennsylvania, residents will spend an average of $534 more a year.

"The Biden economy continues to set new terrible records," U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) wrote in a Twitter post on Tuesday. "Inflation just hit its fastest pace in more than 40 years. Food, gas and housing costs are crushing families. Prices are soaring way faster than workers’ pay growth."

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, in January 2021 the national average price per gallon of gasoline was $2.33. It has increased nearly 75% when compared to Friday's national average. According to a number that the Gasoline Misery Index calls the Biden Misery Index, Americans are spending an average of $914 more per year on gasoline today since President Joe Biden entered office in January 2021.

On April 1, Biden announced the release up to 180 million barrels of crude oil from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve over the next six months, in his effort to curb high gas prices. This action has slowly started to bring down pump prices.

Biden's latest attempt to bring down inflation includes extending the availability of higher biofuel blends of gasoline, such as E15, during the summer to curb soaring fuel costs and to cut reliance on foreign energy sources. Before Biden lifted it last week, there was a summertime ban over E15 fuel, which was imposed over concerns it contributes to smog in hot weather. Biden's new announcement will allow Americans to keep buying E15, a gasoline that uses a 15% ethanol blend, from June 1 to Sept. 15.

On Tuesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for the 12 months ending in March. The data showed an 8.5% all-items annual increase, which is the largest jump in over 40 years. In March, the gasoline index rose 18.3% and accounted for over half of the all-items monthly increase.