Fact-check: Have gasoline prices risen 63% during Joe Biden’s presidency?

Anthony Starkey
·4 min read
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Chris Rose

Statement: Gasoline prices are "up 63%" under President Joe Biden.

Prices at a Shell station in Austin are seen in May. Russia's war against Ukraine and the easing of the COVID-19 pandemic have had much bigger effects on gasoline costs than President Joe Biden's policies.
Prices at a Shell station in Austin are seen in May. Russia's war against Ukraine and the easing of the COVID-19 pandemic have had much bigger effects on gasoline costs than President Joe Biden's policies.

As one of the most commonly noticed consumer prices, the cost of gasoline shapes many consumers’ perceptions of inflation and the broader economy.

In an Oct. 23 post on X, formerly Twitter, West Virginia state Senate candidate Chris Rose, a Republican, sought to leverage voter concern about prices at the pump into support for a pro-energy agenda that would benefit his state.

"West Virginia coal, oil, and gas will lead the way to America being energy dominant again; we just need to get the government out of the way. #WVEnergy #wvpol," Rose posted.

Attached to the post was a graph showing how gasoline prices have fluctuated since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021. The graph’s text said, "Gas prices up 63% in just 31 months under Biden administration."

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Gas prices have increased on Biden’s watch, but by the time Rose posted, they had risen by less than 63% from when he entered office.

Rose did not respond to inquiries for this article. He is running in Senate District 2, which has parts of Wetzel, Marion and Monongalia counties. Republican Charlie Clements holds the seat now.

To vet the amount of the increase on Biden’s watch, we examined weekly gasoline price data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, a federal agency.

During Biden’s first week in office, the national average retail gasoline price was $2.39 per gallon. When Rose tweeted, the price had risen to $3.53. That’s an increase of just under 48%, not 63%.

Once we found the chart’s source, we found an explanation.

It came from a blog post from the Media Research Center, a group critical of what it considers liberal media bias. The identical gasoline price graph was one of several included in the post, which was titled, "Bidenomics: Five Charts the Media Don’t Want You to See."

The blog post was originally published Aug. 30, when the most recent weekly national average price was $3.87. That would be an increase of almost 62%, which is close to what the chart said.

The problem for the accuracy of Rose’s Oct. 23 post is that the chart’s data was from Aug. 30 — and between those dates, prices at the pump fell from $3.87 to $3.53, a drop of nearly 9%. This is why the overall rise on Biden’s watch was 48%, rather than 63%, when Rose posted.

Prices have continued to fall. In the subsequent week’s data, the average proce was down to $3.47. That means the rise on Biden’s watch was about 45%.

Also, while Biden’s policies might have marginally affected gasoline prices, experts say the price of gasoline — whether it’s high or low by historical standards — isn’t something over which presidents have much control.

As PolitiFact has reported, gasoline prices initially rose on Biden’s watch because of the recovery after the worst of the coronavirus pandemic. As economic activity, commuting and travel rebounded, fuel demand rose faster than global supplies did.

Then, after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, NATO countries and allies sought to buy less Russian crude oil as punishment for its war, which has hampered supply. Other major oil producers, such as Saudi Arabia, have largely resisted requests to increase production to fill the void.

Overall, this has kept global crude oil prices high, even though they have fallen from their peak in summer 2022.

Our ruling

Rose said that gasoline prices are "up 63%" under Biden.

Gasoline prices have risen under Biden, but Rose’s post used old data. By the time he posted, gasoline prices had retreated, making the increase under Biden 48% rather than 63%.

Also, experts say that the rise under Biden was largely independent of his policies. Gasoline prices initially rose because of an economic comeback after the COVID-19 pandemic slowed and then resumed rising after Russia invaded Ukraine.

We rate the statement Half True.

Our Sources

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: PolitiFact: Have gas prices risen 63% during Joe Biden’s presidency?