this is based on projections that global oil production will increase faster than demand. that s a reversal of the past 18 months. and the report says the emergence of omicron and new travel restrictions could dent consumption. it is currently at a seven-week low. $3.34 a gallon. recent drops in crude oil prices are showing up at the pump finally. oil prices crashed over concerns omicron could derail energy demand. meanwhile, dire predictions of sky-high home heating costs may not come true this winter after all. warm temperatures and rising production there is sending natural gas prices lower. now down 40% from the october peak. cooling energy costs, if they last, offer critical release for household budgets. energy sticker shock has been one of the biggest drivers of the highest u.s. inflation in decades if, and it is a big if, 23 inflation peaks, it could set up consumers well for next year. think of this.
higher prices. high gas prices hit low-income americans the hardest and threaten to intensify america s biggest the inflation scare in more than a dozen years. this is a political problem for biden too. even though the blame from republicans is largely misplaced. voters do not like high gas prices, and fair or not they tend to blame whoever is in the white house. even though electric vehicle sales are booming they still represent a small piece of the pie. unfortunately, industry source tell me there isn t really much biden can do about energy sticker shock. plan a was to get opec and its allies to stop production. that s failed. plan b could be to tap america s emergency stockpile of oil. energy secretary suggested that could be in the cards. but the energy department later walked that back and told me there is no immediate plans to tap the spr. there s a lot of skepticism
and national gas prices are skyrocketing. and that s a big deal because natural gas is the most common way to heat homes and electricity. so people are definitely seeing energy sticker shock right now. and now we re hearing that the price of our clothing could get a lot more expensive as well. you know, oil and gas gets the headlines. quietly, cotton prices are skyrocketing. cotton prices hit a ten-year high. there s a two factors at play. one is extreme weather, drought, heat waves in the united states has wiped out crops of cotton. also, there s been a really strong demand, especially from china. if you put that together, i think it means that americans could expect to pay more on jeans and t-shirts this holiday season. not the news you want to hear but thank you for bringing that to us. knowledge is power is the way i look at that, thanks, matt. thank you. brian laundrie has now been missing for three weeks. but we re hearing in his sister