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Friday, June 30, 2023

The Daily Money: Gas prices dip just in time for the July 4 holiday

Gas prices are falling just in time for the long July 4 weekend.

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The Daily Money

ALL THE MONEY NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Fri Jun 30 2023
 

Charisse Jones |  Economic Opportunity Reporter

And so it begins. It's Friday, the unofficial start of a long holiday weekend, and I'm Charisse Jones with your Daily Money headlines.

Air travel has been plagued by delays and cancellations this week, making driving look a lot more appealing. And a road trip may be even sweeter now that gas is more than a dollar cheaper than it was a year ago, and less expensive than even last week.

As of midday Thursday, the average price nationally for a gallon of unleaded gas – roughly $3.52 – had dropped about six cents from the same time a week ago, according to GasBuddy, an app that gauges gas prices in real time . An average gallon was also 3 or 4 cents cheaper than last month.

On average, prices at the pump are forecast to be about $1.30 per gallon less on July 4 than they were on the last holiday when gas prices had reached record highs in prior weeks, according to GasBuddy's head of petroleum analysis Patrick De Haan. Earlier this week, he projected that on July 4,  the national average for a gallon of unleaded would be $3.49.

"We could continue to see that national average slowly slipping," De Haan told USA TODAY. But, he said, "it may stall out just shy of the $3.49 mark because the price of oil and the wholesale price of gasoline did take a big bounce" Wednesday.

Person pumping gas into car.

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Supreme Court rejects student loan debt relief

The Supreme Court killed President Joe Biden's proposal to cancel student loan debt for 26 million Americans with a decision issued Friday. The ruling strikes down a plan meant to give financial relief to many Americans who advocates say have often been unable to more forward financially because of that debt burden.

In a 6-3 decision, the majority said the Biden administration exceeded its power in its bid to forgive $400 billion in student loans. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority decision.

Inflation slows but core price gains remain high

The outlook on inflation remains mixed.

A key gauge used by the Federal Reserve to measure inflation slowed in May, but an underlying index that takes account of price gains stayed high.

Consumer prices , rose 3.8% last month as compared to last May, slower than the 4.3% pace in April and the four-decade peak of 7% seen last June, the Commerce Department said Friday. That's the smallest annual uptick since April 2021, largely due to plunging energy prices.

However, on a monthly basis, prices experienced a 0.1% bump following a 0.4% increase the previous month, according to the personal consumption expenditures price (PCE) index..

Energy prices, including gasoline, dropped 3.9% while food prices rose slightly, by 0.1%.

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It's baaaack. The great Sriracha shortage which made it hard to find that rich, peppery sauce last year has returned as one of its biggest manufacturers says the condiment continues to be in short supply.

Huy Fong Foods , the California-based company which makes the most recognized brand of Sriracha in the U.S., said last year that it looked forward to a stronger harvest in the fall. But the output didn't turn out to be enough. In a statement, the company said "Unfortunately, we are still experiencing a shortage of raw material. Although some production did resume this past fall season, we continue to have a limited supply that continues to affect our production. At this time, we have no estimations of when supply will increase."

And speaking of red sauces: does ketchup belong in the refrigerator? Ketchup manufacturer Heinz says, yep.

Heinz made its opinion known via tweet: "FYI: Ketchup. goes. in. the. Fridge!" It then surveyed the public to see what others thought, and as of Thursday morning, almost 60% of those polled said they make sure the condiment stays chilled.

A vigorous discussion on social media ensued, with some questioning why restaurants seem to not refrigerate their bottles while others noted ketchup packages typically say to stash it in the fridge after opening.

So, what do you think?

Each weekday, The Daily Money delivers the best consumer news from USA TODAY. We break down financial news and provide the TLDR version: how decisions by the Federal Reserve, government and companies imp
NextGen America student debt relief advocates listen and react as The United States Supreme Court released opinions on Department of Education v. Brown and Biden v. Nebraska, on Friday, June 30, 2023, the last day of the 2022-23 term.

The Supreme Court blocked Biden's plan to wipe out student loan debt for 26 million Americans.

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Shell gas station prices are seen on May 30, 2023 in Austin, Texas. Gas prices begin to rise nationally, but remain lower than prices around this time last year.
 

Gas prices are down, compared to Fourth of July last year

This July Fourth holiday, a gallon of unleaded gas costs, on average, about $3.50, more than $1 less than a year ago, according to AAA and GasBuddy.
Misty Gardner-Hajek, 30, is photographed in the classroom where she teaches English at North High School in Phoenix, Arizona Tuesday March 22, 2022.
 
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Inflation, as measured by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index Summary, jumped 9.1% in June compared to June of 2021. The number was higher than in any month since November 2008, with the price of fuel oil soaring. The news was staggeringly bad for an American economy that is likely on its way into recession because people's purchasing power has been sharply eroded. (Inflation is an even greater hardship for people who are already struggling financially. This is the city where the most people rely on food stamps in every state .) The debate among policy makers and economists about how to best tame inflation quickly has not yielded a solution. The Federal Reserve continues to raise rates, one of the few weapons it has in its central bank arsenal. Some economists believe the Fed has been too slow. If it had begun raising rates earlier, as far back as last year, inflation may not have surged as much. Others think that if the Fed raised rates in 2021, it would have undermined economic expansion and pushed unemployment higher. Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, commented about the inflation to new outlets, saying: "This report will make for very uncomfortable reading at the Fed." Among the most pessimistic experts who have formulated a suggested path out of rising inflation is Larry Summers, former U.S. treasury secretary and former president of Harvard. He is also considered among the most gifted economists of his generation. Summers recently told an audience at the London School of Economics: "We need five years of unemployment above 5% to contain inflation -- in other words, we need two years of 7.5% unemployment or five years of 6% unemployment or one year of 10% unemployment." Unemployment has not been over 7% since some of the worst days of the Great Recession. Inflation's effects have been uneven. While the year-over-year figure for all goods and services measured by the BLS in June was 9.1%, some items were up more than 20%. To determine the household items that are soaring in price, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the BLS' Consumer Price Index Summary June report. Prices are compared to June 2021. Gasoline prices lead the way with at least a 52% increase, depending on the type. Fuel oil prices nearly doubled. Some staple items on the American dinner table also rose. Butter prices rose 21%, and egg prices were 33% higher. Each of the 40 items on this list has jumped in price by 14% or more, with items ranging from baby food to milk and cookies to car body work. (Also see, this is the price of bacon and eggs the year you were born .) The new CPI report makes one thing very clear. Inflation is so high across so many goods and services that Americans buy that there is no reason to believe the pace of the increase will come down soon.
 

Inflation slowed again in May. Will the Fed raise rates next month?

An inflation measure that's closely watched by the Fed eased in May but a core price gauge stayed high, according to PCE inflation index
Supporters of affirmative action protest near the U.S. Supreme Court Building on Capitol Hill on June 29, 2023 in Washington, DC. In a 6-3 vote, Supreme Court Justices ruled that race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina are unconstitutional, setting precedent for affirmative action in other universities and colleges.
 

Who benefits from affirmative action? The answer may surprise you.

People associate affirmative action with ending discrimination against people of color. But women are the greatest beneficiaries, scholars say.
How grocery stores are tracking you using loyalty cards, apps, bluetooth beacons and websites
 
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Companies can track your activity in stores and online. It may seem invasive, but every social media post, Google search, or move around town is tracked, too.
Wired takes an animated look at what's inside the internet's favorite hot sauce.
 

These prices are spicy! Sriracha shortage drives up cost of sauce

Huy Fong Foods' popular Sriracha hot chili sauce is still in short supply. Here's why it's so hard to find.
Heinz ketchup is displayed on a shelf at a grocery store in Washington, DC, on February 15.
 

Do you put ketchup in the fridge? Heinz sparks debate on social media

The company started a poll asking people where they keep their ketchup. Nearly 60% of respondents said they keep the condiment in the fridge.
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Annoyed on a plane? Stop touching the seat in front of you.

Seat kickers and tray table drummers are a major annoyance. But the discussion about these bothersome in-flight behaviors has always ended too soon.

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