US gasoline average inches past Biden-era level, report says
A South Korean report links higher fuel costs to war-related shipping and refinery disruption, with US relief measures offering limited results.
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![바이든 정부보다 더 끔찍한 상황…트럼프에게로 돌아온 '부메랑' [지금이뉴스] / YTN](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/EErm5FM1Wnc/maxresdefault.jpg)
바이든 정부보다 더 끔찍한 상황…트럼프에게로 돌아온 '부메랑' [지금이뉴스] / YTN
The difference is a fraction of a cent, but the political contrast is sharper: average gasoline prices during Donald Trump's second term have narrowly exceeded the average during Joe Biden's presidency, according to South Korean news broadcaster YTN, citing Reuters and American Automobile Association figures.
The report puts the second-term average for regular gasoline at $3.472 a gallon, compared with $3.471 under Biden. These are averages across the respective administrations, not a comparison of today's pump price with Biden's final day in office. Diesel has also averaged more under Trump's second administration, the report says.
The AI-narrated bulletin recalls Trump's campaign promise to expand American energy production and lower prices. It says gasoline initially fell below two dollars a gallon before the Iran war and disruption to tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz sent costs upward. Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy infrastructure added pressure on diesel supplies, according to the report.
Citing CNN, the bulletin says crude shipments recovered to prewar levels after US forces secured passage through Hormuz, but expensive shipping routes and sharply higher tanker rental costs continued to weigh on prices. Damage to refineries in the Middle East and Russia also reduced production of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, CNN's analysis says.
With the midterms approaching, the report describes an administration trying several responses: releasing strategic oil reserves, allowing Russian diesel imports, providing energy assistance to farmers, easing restrictions on tax-exempt dyed diesel and investing in refining capacity.
But GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan tells CNN that the measures have had little effect. His assessment, relayed in the bulletin, is that diplomacy remains the strongest available tool for addressing the conflict-driven fuel-price pressure.
A waterway linking the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, with Iran on its northern shore and Oman's Musandam Peninsula to the south.
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- Channel
- YTN
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- October 27, 2026
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The numbers
The bulletin has drawn about 4,300 views since yesterday. Its central price comparison concerns administration-wide averages, rather than a single day's fuel prices.
