US – The national price of gas is already at a multi-year high at 3.52 per gallon of gas. Now with possible sanctions on Russia that could cost us more at the pump.
At the close on Thursday, February 17th barrels of oil settled at 91.76 dollars per barrel, that decrease was because of an expectation of oil to enter the global market and calm gasoline prices, but the tension between Russia and Ukraine could stop barrels from flowing.
President Biden announced sanctions on Russia, which may cause the OPEC+ member (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) to withdraw their Russian oil from the global market and cause a major fluctuation in oil prices.
“With tensions still very high that Russia may invade Ukraine, gasoline prices kept moving higher, tugged by the rising price of oil as the market concentrates on possible outcomes from the situation that could affect global oil production amidst recovering demand,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. “However, with nuclear talks between Iran and global powers ongoing in Vienna, the possibility exists that a new deal could bring Iran’s crude oil supply back to legitimate markets, helping to ease a slight portion of supply concerns. While the proposition remains in the air for the time being, we’re also just a few weeks away from the traditional start of the spring surge in gasoline prices, brought on by the change to summer gasoline, seasonal maintenance at refineries and rising demand. The weeks ahead could be rather ugly with rising prices, especially if Russia pursues a strong-arm invasion of Ukraine.”
For eight straight consecutive weeks, gas prices have climbed, now according to Gasbuddy.com the national average is up 20.7 cents from a month ago and 88.9 cents per gallon higher than a year ago.
The highest price of gasoline in the US was 4.10 in 2008, if sanctions go forth and we don’t get a handle on demand we may see a new high in the coming months.
