As Charles Kennedy writes at OilPrice.com, U.S. gasoline prices are rising after the Russian invasion in Ukraine and could hit $4 per gallon, according to data from the AAA.
The average price per gallon of gasoline reached $3.57 as of Friday, according to GasBuddy data, after starting the week at $3.51. A year ago, the average price for gasoline was $2.65 per gallon.
“Russia is one of the leading oil producers globally, behind only the United States and Saudi Arabia and if they choose to withhold their oil from the global market, such a move would eventually be reflected in higher gas prices for American drivers,” AAA spokesman Andrew Gross said, as quoted by the Epoch Times.
The gas price increase to $4 could happen in the next few weeks, according to analysts, if the conflict continues that long.
President Joe Biden this week tried to quench worries about the security of energy supply, saying, “We’re closely monitoring energy supply for any disruption, and we’re executing a plan … toward a collective investment to secure stability in global energy supplies.”
The president also assured the public the White House will take steps to control prices at the pump, with Biden saying, “I want to limit the pain to the American people fueling at the gas pump … This is critical to me.” No concrete measures for reining in prices were mentioned.
Fighting the surge in gasoline prices will be even tougher today than it was last year when Biden released crude from the strategic petroleum reserve.
First, there is the tight global supply of crude, which has been fueling the price rally even before Russia moved on Ukraine.
Second, there is the fact that the U.S. is a major importer of crude oil and has a limited source of it because of its sanctions against Venezuela. As a result, Russia has become a major supplier of the heavy crude U.S. refineries need to produce fuels. Sanction action on Russia’s energy industry could interfere with Biden’s plans for reining in fuel prices at home.
[ZH: All of this has prompted Democratic leaders to panic (as we are sure their constituencies are also every time they have to fill their tanks), with U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) on Friday called for President Biden to release oil from the national stockpile and support legislation to suspend the federal gas tax in 2022 as he pushes to relive gas prices that rose after Russia invaded Ukraine.
“As Russia continues its unprovoked attack on Ukraine, the average price of crude oil could remain above $100 per barrel and push the price of regular unleaded even higher than it is now,” Kelly wrote in his letter.
“Hardworking families cannot continue to bear the economic hardship of high gas prices while paying for more expensive groceries and medicine. Even before the crisis in Ukraine, Arizona families struggled with costs at the pump,” he continued.
So, this isn’t all Putin’s fault!!??
Perhaps Senator Kelly and his central-planning pals should have glanced at the following chart before suggesting more Einsteinian madness…
The strategic petroleum reserve has released over 75 million barrels in the last year and gas prices at the pump are up 70%.
But Kelly said in his letter “another release, especially if done in coordination with our allies and other nations, could help blunt rising oil prices and the corresponding prices that Americans pay at the pump.”
Because doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome is… well, you know.
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