Biden asks FTC to ‘immediately’ look into whether illegal conduct is pushing up gas prices

By Kevin Liptak, CNN

President Joe Biden asked the Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday to “immediately” investigate whether illegal activity by oil and gas companies is pushing up gas prices.

In a letter to the FTC commissioner, Biden cites “mounting evidence of anti-consumer behavior by oil and gas companies.”

“The bottom line is this: gasoline prices at the pump remain high, even though oil and gas companies’ costs are declining,” he wrote.

He cited a “unexplained large gap” between the price of unfinished gasoline and average prices at the pump as evidence of potential wrongdoing.

“I do not accept hard-working Americans paying more for gas because of anti-competitive or otherwise potentially illegal conduct. I therefore ask that the Commission further examine what is happening with oil and gas markets, and that you bring all of the Commission’s tools to bear if you uncover any wrongdoing,” he wrote.

This story is breaking and will be updated.

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