(NewsGlobal.com)- In just the past two weeks, the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline has skyrocketed 79 cents, according to reports from The Associated Press.
As of last Saturday, the average price of a gallon of gas was $4.43. That marked a 53% increase over this time last year, when the average price of gas was $2.89 per gallon.
The $4.43-per-gallon mark set a new record for the average high price of a gallon of gas at the pumps. The previous high was $4.11 per gallon, which was reached back in July of 2008, at the height of the Great Recession.
For residents of some parts of the country, including Los Angeles, $4.43 might seem like a dream. That’s because a gallon of gas there averages around $6, with some prices reaching just shy of $7 per gallon.
The enormous increase in gas prices in such a short period of time is being attributed to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The prices for crude oil shot up immediately after the invasion over fears that oil supplies coming out of Russia would slow considerably.
Then, that’s exactly what happened. First, future prospects for Russian oil exports increasing to Germany and other parts of the world took a hit when Germany refused to certify the Nord 2 Stream pipeline.
Then, the United States and other countries decided to ban all imports of oil, coal and natural gas from Russia in response to the Communist country invading its neighbor.
When he announced the new sanctions being placed on Russia last week, President Joe Biden said:
“That means Russian oil will no longer be acceptable at U.S. ports and the American people will deal another blow to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s war machine.”
He also said at the time that the price increases were directly attributable to Putin’s decision to start a war with Ukraine. Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, told reporters at a briefing last week:
“This is a Putin spike at the gas pump, not one prompted by our sanctions.”
The United States hardly relies on Russian oil for gasoline at all. But, the reason why gas prices in America have increased so much in such a short period of time is that crude oil is an internationally-traded commodity. So, gas prices aren’t just dependent on where a country is getting their oil from — even if it is produced domestically.
Gas prices were already increasing before Russia invaded Ukraine. Much of that had to do with the threat of the Russian invasion as they built military installments near its borders with Ukraine.
Soaring inflation in the United States didn’t help the situation, either.
Many experts believe that gas prices could continue to rise, even as the price of crude oil is starting to drop.
It’s not just regular-grade gasoline that’s risen in price, either. In the last few weeks, the average price of a gallon of diesel gas has increased by $1.18, up to an average of $5.20.
