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FACT BRIEF

Did prices of key commodities suddenly increase in 2021—ever since President Joe Biden took office?

By Sarah Thompson
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NO

The five commodities listed in a social media post all experienced steep drops in prices in the early months of 2020 and then turned around, with prices climbing in the second half of 2020 and into 2021.

The global COVID-19 pandemic coupled with issues unique to each item produced many unprecedented swings in prices.

Lumber showed the most dramatic price increase. There are many factors for its sharp rise but it's basically high demand and short supply.

Three factors drove up gas prices in early 2021, according to Forbes: rising oil prices, loss of refining capacity and transition to summer gasoline. And AAA reports 60% more drivers were expected on the road during Memorial Day weekend than in 2020, contributing to higher gas prices.

Coal, wheat and corn prices also were affected by demand during the pandemic and for grains, other factors including weather.

See a full discussion of this at Lead Stories
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Forbes Who Is To Blame For Rising Gasoline Prices?
AAA Memorial Day Travelers will Pay Highest Gas Prices since 2014
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Lead Stories
Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.