South Carolina gas prices rise, but the Texas freeze is only partly responsible

Gas prices in South Carolina have skyrocketed in recent weeks – with more peaks likely due to the short-term closure of oil refineries in Texas after a devastating deep freeze. However, there is a long-term trend towards higher prices as the economy recovers from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic – presaging a high demand for crude oil in the future.

This optimism is fueling a recovery in crude oil prices … which, in turn, is resulting in higher pump prices.

“Gas prices have been increasing consistently week after week since the end of November”, AAA spokesman Jeanette McGee said during a recent radio interview on NPR.

According to McGee, gas prices “will soon be more expensive than the highest price of 2020, despite low demand”.

In fact, the demand for crude oil was on average only 7.7 million barrels a day since January – their lowest levels in more than two decades.

“The last time it measured less than 8 million (barrels per day) during the first six weeks of the year was in 2001,” noted McGee.

But wait … does low demand not usually result in falling prices (well, excluding weather anomalies like the Texas storm)?

Yea … but …

According to oil market analyst Paola Rodríguez-Maisu, the oil market is in a “spiral of optimism” after the recent launch of coronavirus vaccines and the belief that America’s economy could soon return to some “normal” appearance.

In other words, this is an aspiration peak …

In South Carolina, the average price of a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline was $ 2,424 on February 21, 2021 – until 14.3 cents (6.2 percent) from one week before 25 cents (11.4 percent) from a month earlier.

Lead free premium is average $ 3,038 per gallon, while diesel fuel is on average $ 2,676 per gallon.

The state of Palmetto is tied with Montana for the tenth lowest price of national gas – and is well below the national average of $ 2,631 per gallon of regular unleaded fuel.

South Carolina is currently in the fourth year of a six-year gasoline tax hike that state lawmakers have promised to “fix our roads”. Eventually, the fee will end up costing drivers 28.75 cents per gallon – an increase of 71.6 percent above its previous level. Altogether, the tax increase was designed to deprive taxpayers of $ 1.8 billion during its first five years of implementation and about $ 600 million every year thereafter – but recent data indicates that the tax is exceeding billing estimates.

Does this mean that the roads in South Carolina are being repaired? No … not that.

As has been the case for decades in the state of Palmetto, poor prioritization – including subsidizing crony capitalist infrastructure projects – continues to result in tax revenues being directed to non-essential purposes (including repayment of debts associated with non-priority political roads ). Until this cycle of mismanagement and capitalist misappropriation / crony policy is broken, no new tax revenue is going to fix the sorry state of South Carolina’s roads.

Meanwhile, the still rising state tax on gasoline remains one of the most regressive rates imposed by the state – disproportionately burdening low- and middle-income citizens.

Our founding editor Will Folks it has consistently advocated tax and spending reforms that would fundamentally re-evaluate how revenues are collected and prioritize how taxpayer dollars are appropriated in South Carolina – including infrastructure reform that focuses resources on priorities that have been overdue for decades.

And for neglected maintenance …

Stay tuned … this news outlet will keep an eye on fuel prices over the next few months, looking to see if the “spiral of optimism” continues. In addition, the next round of regressive tax increases in South Carolina begins on July 1, 2021 – the first day of the next fiscal year.

-FITSNews

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