Prices rose across the board in 2021, as nations rebounded from the peak of the coronavirus epidemic and demand exceeded supply. This wound up sparking high-profile discussions over inflation and international supply lines.
Lots of reasons for high inflation including corporate predatory acts like large meatpackers raising prices while underpaying farmers & and tripling profit margins during the pandemic
We need to use our govt power to break up monopolies & let markets work https://t.co/jry9n7GKxi— Carlos Mariani (@Cmarianirosa) December 26, 2021
Increasing energy costs are crucial in that formula, since the costs of oil, gas, and other energies are entrenched in the cost of just about everything, from product manufacturing and transportation to power generation.
Here’s how much power costs have risen in the last year…
Gasoline and Oil
Brent crude settled at $51.09 a barrel on the first trading day of 2021.
Brent rose dramatically throughout the year, reaching a high of $86.40 on Oct. 26, despite countless peaks and dips. This equates to a 69 percent increase, with Brent experiencing a 125 percent year-over-year gain, compared to the last week of October 2020.
#Brent crude futures jumped over 3% to $74, a surge that comes amid a rise in gas and power prices in Europe.https://t.co/4nuAWqQI1Q
— Forbes Middle East (@Forbes_MENA_) December 21, 2021
In the United States, the West Texas Intermediate crude oil standard began the year at $47.62 per barrel; it peaked on Oct. 26 at $84.65, representing a roughly 78 percent increase.
This is the case with oil, as it is with gas (for the most part). In October and November, drivers paid the most for a gallon of petrol in seven years, with the average price exceeding $3.40.
The price impact varied by state, with the southeast and midwest experiencing the lowest average costs and the west and northeast experiencing higher prices.
California’s average, for its part, hit a new high of $4.682 per gallon on Nov. 15, the second record day consecutively. The preceding Sunday averaged $4.671 per day, shattering a previous record established in 2012.
Electricity, Fossil Fuels, Propane, and Cooking Gas
Natural gas prices, a vital fuel in home heating and power production, have risen in response to broader economic pressures.
The price of gas increased by about 158 percent between the low in January and the high in October. Gas prices have subsequently dropped, but they were still roughly 37% higher in the third week of December, compared to the same time last year.
Household and wholesale propane rates were both considerably above last year in the first few months after the cold season, prompting one expert to predict in October the industry was prepared for “propane-market hell.”
According to Energy Information Administration data, the median residential propane cost during Dec. 13’s week was $2.697 per gallon, or nearly 42 percent more than the same time last year.
Nevertheless, wholesale prices dropped by roughly 25% since early October, yet are higher than last year. The cost of heating oil is also rising. For the week of Dec. 13, the average price of a gallon of home heating oil increased by 43 percent year on year.
According to the EIA, household electricity costs grew in every census division in the United States (New England, Middle Atlantic, Mountain, and so on) during the fiscal year ending in September.
On average, the cost of a kilowatt-hour increased by around 5% across the country.
