Biden shuns asking US consumers to drive less

Biden shuns asking US consumers to drive less

Washington, 10 May (Argus) — President Joe Biden does not intend to call on US drivers to limit summer road trips as a way of taming record-high fuel prices, a split with European calls for its citizens to cut energy use.

High fuel prices across the US are already giving drivers enough of an incentive to cut back on unnecessary travel, Biden said. US gasoline and diesel prices today hit a record high average of $4.37/USG, according to travel group AAA, driven primarily by a recent surge in diesel prices.

"If you ever raise a family like mine, you do not have to tell them, they are doing everything in their power to figure out how not to have to show up at the gas pump," Biden said in a speech focused on his plans to address inflation that is at a 40-year high.

The number of miles driven in the US is on track to hit a record 9.6mn miles/d this June to September, according to the US Energy Information Administration's Short-Term Energy Outlook released today, a 2pc rise compared to last summer as more consumers resume travel they deferred when the pandemic struck. US gasoline demand this summer is expected to