Facing high inflation, Biden takes on the challenge of rising energy prices

National security adviser Jake Sullivan on Wednesday called on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to move faster to restore global supply of petroleum to pre-pandemic levels, and the White House asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the domestic gasoline market for any anti-competitive behavior that could be increasing prices.

The joint actions come as the administration is increasingly sensitive to rising prices across the economy as it faces both political and policy pressure from inflation.

“Higher gasoline costs, if left unchecked, risk harming the ongoing global recovery,” Sullivan said in a statement. He said the administration was pressuring OPEC and producers allied with the cartel to more quickly undo the production cuts put in place at the start of the pandemic.

Biden’s National Economic Council director, Brian Deese, asked the FTC head, Lina Khan, to “monitor the U.S. gasoline market and address any illegal conduct that might be contributing to price increases for consumers at the pump.” The FTC is an independent agency and may take advice, but not direction, from the White House.

Wednesday’s report from the Labor Department showed that consumer prices jumped 0.5% from June to July, down from the previous monthly increase of 0.9%. They have increased a substantial 5.4% compared with a year earlier, erasing much of the benefit to workers from higher pay.

Gas prices are up about a $1 from a year ago as Americans hit peak summer driving season and return to roads after pandemic shut-ins. The White House says it’s no cause for alarm, saying the country is “not at an historically high gas price moment” and that prices are roughly where they were in 2018.

Rising prices, both at the pump and across other consumer goods, have become a potent talking point among Biden’s GOP critics. The White House has insisted that inflation will cool as the economy recovers from the twin shocks of the pandemic and the nation’s ongoing recovery from the virus-induced lockdowns.