Drivers feeling the pinch at the pump. Will opening reserves help lower the price of gas?

ATLANTA — Record numbers of Americans are expected to travel by car this summer and gas prices are top of mind.

The Biden administration has released a million gallons of petroleum reserves, it says, in an effort to keep gas prices from elevating. Time will tell if it works.

“I’ve been seeing roughly between $3.39, maybe $3.69 at the most. But I’m always looking forward to $3.39,” Henry County driver Ebony Tucker said.

She is among the Georgians and millions of Americans closely watching gas prices. It’s just another expense joining so many others leading to record inflation since the pandemic.

“I think that consumers are sort of really dialing down on their expenditures right now because of high prices and the experience of inflation over the past few years,” said Mark Hamrick, with Bankrate.com.

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With gas prices not up sharply now as we enter June, some are questioning the administration’s tapping reserves as possibly politically motivated in the year of a presidential election.

“Here, and I can’t connect those dots myself, I would say that Americans would welcome anything that delivers them from the perilous financial evils of high inflation,” Hamrick said.

Hamrick believes the biggest concern surrounds hurricane season.

“Supply, as we have a big storm hit some areas that would be either containing petroleum or gasoline supplies or reduces the capacity to refine. And when we are having the predictions out there for a very active potentially damaging season, that’s a concern. So that’s a sort of an event that can affect,” Hamrick said.

Tensions in the Middle East can also affect our gas prices, so you’ll want to be mindful of that.

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