US Gas Prices Continue to Rise After Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine: How Far Can They Go Up?

Gas prices across the US continued to rise a day after gas prices in Russia Invasion of Ukraine. The national average, Thursday morning, was $3.54 a gallon, According to AAACompared to $2.65 one year ago.

By Friday afternoon, he had reached $3.57.

The national average could easily exceed $4 a gallon by mid-March, Tom Kloza, energy analyst for the Oil Price Information Service, He told CNN Thursday.

in CaliforniaOn Friday morning, prices were already averaging $4.79 a gallon, up 2 cents from Thursday. They’ve crossed the $4 mark in Oregon and Hawaii, too.

Earlier on Thursday, crude oil – which is refined to produce gasoline – reached a high of $105.79 a barrel, the first time it has risen above $105 since 2014. By Friday afternoon, oil had cooled somewhat to 90.86 dollars per barrel. But Kloza said a sharp rise in wholesale gas prices would likely hit consumers within days.

Here’s what you need to know about how the Ukraine crisis has affected gas prices, including options to offset rising costs.

For more, find out what is the invasion of Russia I mean for the US economy Learn more about it Cyber ​​attacks against Ukraine and the Threats to other countries

Where are gas prices headed?

Brian Milne, Energy Editor at DTN Commodity and Technology Forecasting, MarketWatch said That said, if the conflict in Europe continues and crude oil continues to exceed $100 a barrel, average prices at the pump could easily rise to $4 a gallon across the country in the next week or two.

“In a worst-case scenario, with full sanctions on Russian gas and oil cut off from the global market, crude oil could go as high as $130 a barrel, or even higher,” Troy Vincent, chief market analyst at DTN, told CNET.

in July 2008A strike by Brazilian oil workers and threats to oil supplies from Nigeria and Iran pushed crude oil prices up to $147.27, and average prices at the gas station peaked at $4.10.

Vincent said that if the price of crude oil reaches $150 a barrel in 2022, $6.50, or even $7 a gallon, cannot be ruled out.

“At that point, though, it would lead to a global recession,” he added. “People will start to limit their activities to the essentials.”

Does the United States get oil from Russia?

Russia, one of the world’s largest producers of crude oil and natural gas, provides 10% of global supplies and Almost 40% for the European Union.

While the United States is the largest producer of crude oil and natural gas We are also the largest consumerIt produces more than 18.6 million barrels per day while using more than 20.5 million barrels.

Last year, to make up for the shortfall, the United States imported 8.5 million barrels of crude oil per day. In Novemberabout 595,000 barrels per day, or roughly 7%, came from Russia – making it our third largest external exporter after Canada and Mexico.

Sanctions against Moscow could reduce the availability of Russian crude in the United States and lead to higher prices for gasoline and petroleum products.

Other factors that affect gas prices

While the crisis in Ukraine has an immediate impact on oil and gas, Vincent said it’s not the only factor.

“We’ve had supply and demand imbalances for a while – and it will continue to exist regardless of whether or not this conflict is over,” he said.

As it has in every industry, the pandemic has caused staffing problems in refineries. And there have been interruptions – including a fire this week at A Marathon Petroleum Factory in Louisiana. Colder winters across North America have also led to higher demand for heating oil.

“Diesel demand has been well above pre-Covid levels for months,” Vincent added. “High e-commerce sales in the US mean that all of those shipments need to be delivered to homes.”

Vincent advises against gas hoarding or other extreme measures, but says consumers should understand that high energy prices have been a major contributor to inflation and won’t go away immediately.

“When the cost of crude oil goes up, prices at the pump tend to reverse very quickly,” he said. “But gas prices tend to rise for a longer time even when crude oil is down.”

What can the United States do to compensate for the rise in gas prices?

President Joe Biden said Tuesday that he is developing a strategy to “reduce gas prices” in the face of the Russian incursion.

In a televised address on Thursday, the president said he was releasing barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a deep underground storage complex along the Gulf Coast that contains Estimated at 600 million gallons from raw.

“I know this is hard and Americans are really getting hurt,” Biden said. “I will do everything in my power to reduce the pain the American people feel at the gas pumping.”

On Thursday, Biden also announced a series of Severe sanctions against Russia With the aim of ending the incursion that would help return oil and gas prices to more normal levels.