Biden administration sounds alarm on rising energy prices

President Joe Biden’s administration is raising alarms at home and abroad about rising energy prices slowing the nation’s recovery from the pandemic-induced recession

WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden's administration is raising alarms at home and abroad about rising energy prices slowing the nation's recovery from the pandemic-induced recession. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Wednesday called on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to move faster to restore global supply of petroleum to pre-pandemic levels, as the White House asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the domestic gasoline market for any anti-competitive behavior that could be increasing prices. The joint actions Wednesday come as the Biden administration is increasingly sensitive to rising prices across the economy as it faces both political and policy pressure from inflation. “Higher gasoline costs, if left unchecked, risk harming the ongoing global recovery," Sullivan said in a statement. He said the administration was pressuring OPEC and producers allied with the cartel, both in public and in private, to more swiftly undo the production cuts put in place at the start of the pandemic.