According to AAA data, the U.S. average cost of a gallon of gas hit a whopping $4.40 on Wednesday – now the highest price ever.
This new high broke the previous record of $4.331 per gallon, which was recorded back in March of this year just after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Now, even with Americans facing enormous stress at the pump already, the Biden administration just halted the possibility of drilling for oil on almost 1 million acres in Alaska’s Cook Inlet.
The Department of the Interior cited a “lack of industry interest in leasing in the area” as its reason for this decision. Announcing its plan to “not move further” with the Cook Inlet lease sale in a statement originally shared with CBS News.
Frank Macchairola, a top official with the country’s largest oil and gas trade association, called the cancellation of the Cook Inlet lease “another example of the administration’s lack of commitment to oil and gas development in the US.”