HOUSTON – (May 23, 2022) – An expert panel will discuss what’s driving prices at the pump in a May 26 webinar from Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.

Gasoline and diesel prices have risen sharply around the world, hitting record levels in the United States. The panelists will discuss contributing factors including market disruptions related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, refining constraints and OPEC’s response. They will examine why prices at the pump rise rapidly but fall slowly, as well as what policymakers in the U.S. and elsewhere can do about the impact on family pocketbooks, business spending, inflation and foreign policy — all which could influence the upcoming midterm elections.

What: Baker Institute webinar, “What's Up with Prices at the Pump?”

Who: Ken Medlock, senior director of the Baker Institute’s Center for Energy Studies; Robert McNally, Rapidan Energy Group founder and president; Sarah Emerson, president of Energy Securities Analysis Inc.; and Lutz Kilian, a senior economic policy advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Mark Finley, fellow in energy and global oil at the Baker Institute, will moderate the discussion and an audience Q&A session.

When: Thursday, May 26, 3-4:15 p.m.

Where: Online; the webinar is free, but registration is required.