President Joe Biden asked the Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday to “immediately” investigate whether illegal activity by oil and gas companies is pushing up gas prices as he searches for a way to reduce pain at the pump, reported The Wall Street Journal.
In a letter to Chair Lina Khan Wednesday, Biden said there’s “mounting evidence of anti-consumer behavior by oil and gas companies.” The letter noted that prices at the pump have remained high despite a decline in the price of unfinished gasoline. “This unexplained large gap between the price of unfinished gasoline and the average price at the pump is well above the pre-pandemic average,” the letter said.
The letter added that the “two largest oil and gas companies in the United States,” which are Exxon and Chevron based on market capitalization, are on track to almost double their net income compared with 2019 levels, while the two companies have also announced stock buybacks and dividend hikes.
Biden’s latest request comes as the administration tries to quell the surge in gas prices and its contribution to inflation across the economy. In August the administration called on OPEC and its oil-producing allies to boost output and also asked the FTC to investigate price-gouging at the pump.
US inflation hit a three-decade high in October. Gasoline prices were up more than 60% in mid-November from a year earlier, putting the price for a gallon of regular gas at the highest level since 2014, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
