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This week’s R&D from Prepd covers high gas prices. Gas prices in the United States reached a new record high on Tuesday, prompting calls for a response by the Biden administration. Higher prices could exacerbate the country’s inflation problem, providing greater hardship for working class Americans. Experts expect that gas prices will remain near or above $4 a gallon until the end of the year.
Gas prices are soaring across the U.S.
How high could gas prices go?
Analysts say it’s not hard to see fuel costs reaching $5 a gallon on averageRead more at https://t.co/e0RhSGDAQ2
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) March 10, 2022
Breaking News: U.S. prices rose 7.9% in the year through February, a new 40-year high for inflation, as gas, food and rent all grew more expensive.https://t.co/9aEmlwgbbC
— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 10, 2022
A growing number of governors and state lawmakers across the U.S. are calling for the suspension of gas taxes to provide relief to motorists from record high prices. https://t.co/DUAQW3J41w
— The Seattle Times (@seattletimes) March 10, 2022
Last week the Commerce Department announced that the U.S. economy grew by 0.5% in the first quarter of 2015. This was below the number that economists had projected and it was below the 1.4% growth rate that the economy registered during the fourth quarter of 2014. The numbers were quickly seized on by critics of the Obama administration, who argued that they proved that the President has failed to generate significant economic momentum under his watch. Defenders of the administration argue that first quarter numbers can typically be stubborn as weather factors can inhibit economic growth in some seasonal industries such as construction or agriculture. Either way, the numbers are likely to temper the attitude of some members of the Federal Reserve Board for another interest rate hike and they could change the dynamic of the presidential race as a weak economy would favor Republicans in the fall.
Here is today’s premium R&D to accompany 
When 2015 began policymakers figured that the U.S. Federal Reserve would raise interest rates. Optimism about the strength of the U.S. economy, as well as projections that inflation would soon meet the Federal Reserve’s preferable mark of 2%, lent credence to these predictions. However, lower than expected growth during the first quarter, coupled with disappointing unemployment data and stubborn inflation statistics have caused some observers to change their predictions of a rate increase. Instead of expecting an increase in 2015, some are now saying that a change in monetary policy will not occur until next year. The minutes of the Federal Reserve’s meeting last month show that it is divided about what to do and this uncertainty means that extempers could face questions over the next three months about when the Federal Reserve will act, and if it should raise interest rates before the end of the year.
Here is today’s premium R&D to accompany