WASHINGTON President Joe Biden on Wednesday called on the US competition authority to look “immediately” into the “possibly illegal” behavior of oil companies whose gasoline prices soar “as their costs fall” .
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The White House in a letter called on Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Lina Khan to “turn its attention to increasingly obvious signs of harmful consumer behavior by oil companies and gas “.
“The FTC has the authority to investigate whether there is any illegal behavior that is costing families’ budgets at the pump. I think you should get started right away, ”writes Joe Biden.
The administration is facing growing American dissatisfaction with inflation, particularly driven by rising energy prices.
Joe Biden points out that although gasoline prices at the pump have continued to rise, “the costs of refiners and petroleum manufacturers have fallen and their profits have increased.”
He denounces “an unexplained gap” between the price of unfinished gasoline and its price at the pump.
“I do not accept that hard-working Americans pay more for fuel because of anti-competitive or possibly illegal behavior,” added the president’s letter.
“I therefore ask the Commission to take a closer look at what is happening with the oil and gas markets,” he wrote.
The price of a gallon of gasoline at the pump (3.78 liters) has risen more than a dollar over the past year to average $ 3.41 nationally, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).
Records for 20 years were reached this week in California, at 4.69 dollars.
Persistent inflation in the United States is becoming a challenge for the government as prices rose 0.9% in October. It peaked at 6.2% over twelve months, a high since 1990.