gas prices : NPR

Inflation Was In Check Last Month; Jobless Claims Jumped Last Week

Gasoline prices at a station in Encinitas, Calif., earlier this week. Mike Blake/Reuters /Landov hide caption

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Mike Blake/Reuters /Landov

Inflation Was In Check Last Month; Jobless Claims Jumped Last Week

February 21, 2013 • Consumer prices were flat in January. But since then, gas prices have risen sharply. So upcoming inflation reports may not be as positive.

Inflation Rate Slowed Sharply In 2012; Prices Were Flat In December

The cost of a gallon of gas kept rising last year, but not at the torrid pace of 2010 and 2011. That helped keep inflation in check. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption

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Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Inflation Rate Slowed Sharply In 2012; Prices Were Flat In December

January 16, 2013 • Consumer prices rose just 1.7 percent in 2012, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. That's about half the pace of 2011 — when prices went up 3 percent. A sharp slowing in the increase of gas prices was a major factor. The news means interest rates will likely stay low.

Record High Prices At The Gas Pump Likely To Linger In California

Motorcyclists Hanna Gilan, right, and her son Chaim Gilan fill up their Vespa scooters with less than two gallons at a gas station in the Echo Park district of Los Angeles on Oct. 4, 2012. Damian Dovarganes/AP hide caption

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Damian Dovarganes/AP

The Two-Way

Record High Prices At The Gas Pump Likely To Linger In California

October 5, 2012 • Refinery and pipeline troubles pushed wholesale fuel costs to a record high this week, leading to higher gas prices for Californians. Industry watchers say those prices may not drop any time soon.

Record High Prices At The Gas Pump Likely To Linger In California

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The Two-Way

Sharp Drop In Gas Prices Puts Brakes On Inflation

June 13, 2012 • Wholesale prices fell 1 percent in May from April thanks to an 8.9 percent plunge in the price of gasoline.

Partisan Psychology: Why Do People Choose Political Loyalties Over Facts?

President Bush and then-Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry shake hands at the end of a presidential debate in 2004 in St. Louis. Researchers want to better understand why partisans' views of the facts change in light of their political loyalties. Charlie Reidel/AP hide caption

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Charlie Reidel/AP

It's All Politics

Partisan Psychology: Why Do People Choose Political Loyalties Over Facts?

May 9, 2012 • Two-thirds of Republicans say the president can do something about high gas prices; about two-thirds of Democrats say he can't. But six years ago, with a Republican president in the White House, those numbers were reversed. Researchers want to understand this flipped perception.

Partisan Psychology: Why Do People Choose Political Loyalties Over Facts?

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Why Gas Prices Are Rising Even As Demand Is Down

The prices at a gas station in Los Angeles earlier this month. Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images

The Two-Way

Why Gas Prices Are Rising Even As Demand Is Down

March 23, 2012 • Americans are consuming less gasoline, but upward pressure on crude oil prices, seasonal factors and the shutdown of some refineries are combining to push up prices at the pump.

President Obama announces support for building an oil pipeline from Oklahoma to Texas, Thursday in Cushing, Okla. Tom Pennington/Getty Images hide caption

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Tom Pennington/Getty Images

It's All Politics

Obama Returns To Oklahoma Talking Oil

March 22, 2012 • President Obama visited Oklahoma for the first time since taking office and announced an executive order to speed up review of a U.S.-only portion of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. His announcement came as Republicans criticized his administration over rising gas prices.

Are High Gas Prices A Plot To Cut Consumption? GOP Says Yes

A driver pumps gas into his Toyota Prius hybrid at a gas station in Sunnyvale, Calif., in 2007. Paul Sakuma/AP hide caption

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Paul Sakuma/AP

It's All Politics

Are High Gas Prices A Plot To Cut Consumption? GOP Says Yes

March 21, 2012 • Republicans are attacking President Obama and his team for allegedly saying they wanted energy prices to go up. The president scoffs at the charge. But some environmentalists say higher energy prices would be a good thing because they would spur the development of alternative technologies.

Are High Gas Prices A Plot To Cut Consumption? GOP Says Yes

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Blaming Presidents For Higher Gas Prices Misses Bigger Picture

How big a role do U.S. presidents really play in controlling gas prices? Prices were well over $4 a gallon in La Jolla, Calif. on March 8. Mike Blake/Reuters /Landov hide caption

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Mike Blake/Reuters /Landov

It's All Politics

Blaming Presidents For Higher Gas Prices Misses Bigger Picture

March 13, 2012 • Just as with the economy over which presidents also have little control, presidents nevertheless get the blame when things go badly, in the case of gas when prices rise to the point where a trip to the gas station leaves most consumers with sticker shock.

It's All Politics

Monday Political Grab Bag: Rising Gas Prices Hurt Obama's Ratings Etc

March 12, 2012 • President Obama's approval ratings have fallen as gas prices have risen. Mitt Romney has benefited from his well-planned strategy of collecting delegates whereever they're up for grabs. The most recent polls showed Romney tied or ahead in Alabama and Mississippi.

March 1, 2012 • With gas prices rising and Republicans blaming him, President Obama was expected to call for an end to oil company tax breaks. Meanwhile, Mitt Romney said he does indeed support a bill that would allow employers to not provide health insurance coverage for contraceptives.

Blog Of The Nation

February 29th: What's On Today's Leap Day Show

February 29, 2012 • In the first hour of Talk of the Nation, the political junkie recaps the week in politics, and author Sandra Tsing Loh talks about caring for her aging father. In the second hour, the U.S. and Afghanistan, and the link between politics and gas prices.

It's All Politics

Could Higher Gas Pump Prices Leave Obama Running On Empty?

February 21, 2012 • Could higher gas prices hurt President Obama's chances at re-election. Five Thirty Eight blogger Nate Silver and economists have looked for a correlation between higher energy prices and the fortunes of the incumbent party and found a link though not a strong one.

In France, Drivers Face Gas Prices Of $8 A Gallon

Gas prices in France have topped more than $8 a gallon in some areas. In this photo from January, a woman rides her bike past a gas station in Paris. Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images