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Woman Explains Why

She's Not Leaving It Costs About 4,500
Ukraine in Video Viewed Rubles to Fill a Gas Tank
6.5M Times After Russia Sanctions

U.S.

Why Are Gas Prices So

High in 2022? Blame Putin
BY BRENDAN COLE ON 2/08/22 AT 11:53 AM EST

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U.S. GAS UKRAINE

OIL INFLATION

A merican motorists are being

punished with the national
average price for a gallon of gas
reaching $3.42 on Monday, as
concerns over supply spurred by the
prospect of Russia invading Ukraine
made their presence felt at the pump.

! 01:06

Data from the American Automobile

Association (AAA) showed that
consumers are now paying the most
at the pump since September 10,
2014, CNBC reported.

Monday's price is now eight cents

higher than a week ago, and 12.3
cents more than this time last year,
according to GasBuddy, which
compiled data from 11 million price
reports from 150,000 gas stations
across the U.S.

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This time last year, the average price

of a gallon of gas was 97.5 cents
cheaper, and gas prices have seen
their sharpest spike in months after
oil surged to $93 a barrel last week.

As of Monday, the lowest prices were

in Mississippi ($3.06), Arkansas
($3.08), and Oklahoma ($3.08).
Those with the highest pump prices
are California ($4.65), Hawaii ($4.41),
and Washington ($3.93), GasBuddy
said.

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The median U.S. price is $3.29 per

gallon, 10 cents more than last week.

The prospect of a Moscow-led

invasion of Ukraine has hit
confidence in the ability for oil
producers to meet the higher demand
caused by the easing of COVID-19
restrictions in the U.S. and globally.

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Russia is the world's second-largest

exporter of crude oil and petroleum
products.

Patrick De Haan, GasBuddy's head

of petroleum analysis, said the
Ukraine crisis might mean "there
won't be enough supply to meet
demand come this summer."

Motorists' wallets could be hit even

harder with the biggest spikes
expected in spring due to "a
confluence of seasonal factors and
the potential flare up in geopolitical
tensions."

His prediction is that the national

average could reach as much as $4 a
gallon by the start of the summer
driving season, "unless there's a
major nuclear deal with Iran, which
has looked doubtful."

"If there's a deal with Iran, we may

suddenly have a few extra million
barrels of oil per day, which could be
the only thing to derail the $4
prediction," he told Newsweek.

Indirect negotiations are ongoing

between the U.S. and Iran to the
nuclear deal known as the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action
(JPCOA).

Anu Gaggar, Global Investment

Strategist for Commonwealth
Financial Network, said last week that
if Russia invades Ukraine, "the
markets could get edgy."

"If Russian energy supplies are

disrupted, energy prices could spike
higher, especially in European
markets," Gaggar said in a statement
to Newsweek.

On Friday, President Joe Biden would

not specify how to tackle gas prices
at the pump, although he did say,
"we're working to bring them down."

The inflationary pressure of higher

gas prices poses a problem for the
Biden administration which
announced in November it would tap
the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as
part of a move with other countries to
ease prices for consumers.

A gas pump nozzle is seen at a gas station in this

illustrative image. Gas prices have reached an
eight-year high on February 8, 2022.
JOE RAEDLE/GETTY

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