June arrives with news of relief for drivers in New York, a state that has joined the local relief announced in various parts of the country to lower the price of gasoline.
In this case, from today until December 31 the collection of the 16 cents per gallon throughout New York, per Governor’s decision. The measure would help even those who do not drive cars, since all trade is related to the movement of goods and/or workers.
“Given that gasoline prices remain near record levels, New York has become the latest state to suspend its gas tax in an effort to provide drivers with some relief at the pump,” summarized CBS2.
The national average of a gallon of gasoline reached $4.62 dollars for regular unleaded gasoline yesterday 31 of May. Diesel prices hit a record high on 16 in May, at $5.58 per gallon, as tracked by the American Automobile Association (AAA).
In New York, gasoline prices also reached a record at the end of May at $4.93 dollars per gallon, but then decreased slightly.
The increase in prices comes as millions of Americans are ready to go on vacation during the summer for the first time in a couple of years after the coronavirus restrictions.
AAA predicted that the season would start with 39.2 million people traveling over Memorial Day weekend, up from last year but still somewhat below pre-pandemic levels.
The situation has been complicated since February with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but even before then gasoline prices were rising as demand rose with the relaxation of pandemic-related restrictions, in amid galloping historical inflation. As early as October, President Joe Biden admitted that he had no immediate solution to the problem of rising gasoline prices and suggested that Americans might not begin to see relief at the pump until next year. But this has not happened.
The White House announced at the end of March the release of one million barrels of crude oil per day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) for the next six months to increase production. This after a release of 30 million barrels at the beginning of March and 50 million last fall.