Steadily falling gasoline prices are weighing on US Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign for the nation’s highest office as Donald Trump seeks to woo inflation-weary consumers with an attack on energy records.
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Published Sep 07, 2024 • 2 minutes of reading
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(Bloomberg) — Steady gasoline prices are providing a tailwind for U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign for the nation’s highest office as Donald Trump seeks to upset inflation-weary consumers by attacking energy records.
Retail gasoline prices have fallen to six-month lows in the U.S. and are only expected to fall further amid weaker-than-expected demand and the prospect of crude oil used to produce motor fuel. Regular unleaded averaged $3,296 a gallon on Thursday, down more than 10% from this year’s peak in April, according to data from the AAA auto club.
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The decline may give Harris a bump among voters who aren’t shy about blaming the White House for high gas prices, an important signal about inflation eating into their wallets, said Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy Group and an adviser in the George W. Bush administration.
A new Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll shows that roughly three in 10 voters in battleground states consider fuel prices the most important economic issue to them. In a sign of what could be in store for retail pump prices, benchmark New York gasoline futures have fallen to a 3 1/2-year low.
Harris “was very fortunate,” McNally said in an interview. “The most visible price in life is falling.”
Trump has repeatedly attacked Democrats for rising energy prices in the post-pandemic period, promising to “drill, baby, drill” and take other steps to increase fuel supplies. The former president vowed on Thursday to cut energy prices in half if re-elected, pledging to approve new drilling, pipelines and refineries.
“Kamala Harris can’t lower any prices because her energy policies are raising the cost of everything,” Trump said in a speech to the Economic Club of New York. Trump’s attacks on energy and inflation are likely to continue into Tuesday night, when he and Harris are scheduled to face off in their first debate.
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Despite the relatively recent drop in prices, gasoline is still nearly 40% higher than when President Joe Biden took office in January 2021.
The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment. When contacted, the Harris campaign pointed to earlier statements that said Trump’s economic plan would “make life more expensive” for Americans by, among other things, raising the cost of gasoline.
Lower gasoline prices have taken a strong cudgel from Trump, who has not been shy about blasting the Biden administration for moves such as revoking major permits for TC Energy Corp.’s Keystone pipeline and throttling oil and natural gas leasing. on federal land.
“The issue is relevant because Republicans continue to raise it,” said Kevin Book, managing director of Washington consulting firm ClearView Energy Partners. “They have a taste that resonates with voters who drive longer distances on lower incomes.”
About 30 states could see sub-$3 gasoline on Election Day in November, said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at fuel tracker GasBuddy.
“The timing seems pretty good,” DeHaan said. “We can see the national average drop below three dollars a gallon for the first time since Biden took the White House. We’re talking about some metrics that Americans haven’t seen in a long time.
—With assistance from Hadriana Lowenkron and Akayla Gardner.
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