US President Joe Biden is angry at high gas prices that are pushing up inflation in the United States. During an event in the port of Los Angeles, he opened the attack on the American oil company ExxonMobil. “Exxon made more money than God did last year,” said Biden, urging the company to spend less on buying its own stock and more on ramping up oil production.
Higher oil production should ensure that prices at the pump fall. The US is already making a lot of progress with this, says Biden, who predicts a record production for next year. The president says he is in talks with the sector to accelerate production. At the same time, the oil and gas sector should not be allowed to profit from the war in Ukraine by wanting to “make excessive profits and drive prices up unnecessarily,” it said.
Biden says high inflation, which stood at 8.6 percent in the US last month, is a global phenomenon largely caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Due to the high prices, especially for fuel, consumers have much less confidence in the US economy than a month earlier.
“I understand Americans are concerned and they have good reasons for it,” Biden said. “But America can tackle inflation better than any other country from a position of strength.” The president defended his economic policy and pointed to the many new jobs and the falling government deficit. Biden’s valuation has fallen recently, partly due to price increases.
ExxonMobil fell on Wall Street after Biden’s criticisms. The oil group lost 1.8 percent in value.
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