Bidenflation Is Back at the Pump

By Laura Gangi Pond @ Shutterstock.com

During his first days in the White House, Joe Biden unleashed an assault on the oil and gas industry with executive orders curtailing energy companies’ ability to supply Americans with the gasoline and diesel they need to survive. Then, to cover up the inflationary mess he had created, Biden dangerously depleted America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve. David Uberti reports for The Wall Street Journal:

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Booming oil prices last year powered U.S. inflation to 40-year highs. That trend was reversing in 2023—until now.

Benchmark crude prices are up 21% over the past six weeks, driving up the cost of American workers’ commutes, freight haulers’ trips to and from warehouses and the production of everything from plastics and fertilizers to clothing.

The gains threaten to prop up inflation, just as easing price pressures had investors betting that the Federal Reserve would soon wrap up its campaign of interest-rate increases. Though the central bank’s preferred inflation metric excludes volatile food and energy costs, many warn that rising oil prices will indirectly pull up costs in every corner of the economy.

“You’re paying for it at the grocery store, with the cost of building materials, household goods,” said Mike Kucharski, vice president of JKC Trucking, a 200-truck operation based in Illinois. “Everybody can feel the high costs.”

Diesel’s climb has been particularly costly for JKC during this summer’s heat waves, since the company’s refrigerated semitrailers need to burn more fuel to keep lettuce, melons and other produce cold in transit. The company updates its fuel surcharge for customers once a week, Kucharski said, but prices have risen so quickly in recent days that his company has had to eat some of the costs.

Action Line: Retirees facing Bidenflation are left with few options than to cut back on their spending in order to maintain their savings. Save til it hurts. When you’re ready to talk about how Bidenflation can affect your retirement, I’m here.

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West (RIP JB) and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com To sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, click here.