Energy prices continue to rise and there’s little we can do

According to AAA, average U.S. gas prices continued breaking all-time highs — reaching $4.622 a gallon yesterday.

What’s the big deal? Rising oil and gas prices are hitting consumer wallets and threatening global growth — in a never-ending nightmare.

In April, oil prices took a break from their rapid ascend when Shanghai went into lockdowns. But two factors drove oil prices up in the past few days:

• Chinese authorities said they would ease a two-month lockdown in Shanghai.
• The European Union (E.U.) agreed to ban most Russian oil imports by the end of 2022.

The E.U. wants to ban 90% of all oil imports from Russia by year-end — a move that could cost Russia $10B in yearly lost revenue.

Looking forward: There are few signs of oil prices falling, and little Biden can do to control prices. In March, Biden already released strategic oil reserves — which Oil Analyst, Matt Smith, sees as “probably the best shot of keeping prices down” (Insider).

The G7 ministers have called on OPEC+ — a group of major oil-producing countries — to increase oil production. But the group delegates said they’re likely to hold production steady this week (BBG).

• The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLE) is up 60% this year.
• The S&P 500 Energy Index is nearly 10% away from its 2014 peak in the last oil supercycle.

Investors are seeing no luck on the supply side, and things aren’t looking good on the demand side either, with the summer travel season coming and China opening up.