The price of oil skyrocketed on Sunday as Democrat President Joe Biden’s administration is considering an embargo on Russian oil after Russia invaded Ukraine late last month.
“The cost of Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose about 10 percent, reaching $130 a barrel on Sunday evening,” The New York Times reported. “In early December, it cost about $65 a barrel.”
The national average price for gas jumped to $4 per gallon over the weekend for the first time since 2008 as prices continue to worsen during the Biden-era.
“As of Sunday afternoon, the national average of a regular gallon of gas was $4.009, according to AAA,” USA Today reported. “That’s up 8 cents from Saturday and up 40 cents from last week. The U.S. hit the $4 national average a day earlier than analysts expected.”
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at fuel-savings app GasBuddy, said in a tweet on Sunday that gas prices were approaching an all-time high.
“We are currently at a 7 day rise in #gasprices of 43.7c/gal,” he tweeted. “If we surpass 49.0c/gal ago, we will be at the highest ever 7 day rise in average price.”
GasBuddy said in a statement:
The national average price of gasoline has just surpassed $4 per gallon in the U.S. for the first time since 2008, and stands just 10 cents below the all-time record of $4.103 per gallon, according to GasBuddy, the leading fuel savings platform providing American drivers with the most ways to save money on gas. Prices have spiked across the country due to the Russian war on Ukraine as sanctions cripple Russia’s ability to export crude oil, spiking gas prices by nearly 41 cents in the last seven days alone.
As of Friday, the weekly rise in gas prices was the second largest ever, following the rise of 49 cents per gallon during the week of September 3, 2005. Yesterday’s daily rise of 15.8 cents per gallon was also the second largest daily rise ever, coming close to the record of 18.1 cents per gallon set as Hurricane Katrina tore through the Gulf 17 years ago. Diesel prices, however, didn’t share the same fate as gasoline, as diesel soared to its largest daily gain ever: 22.2 cents per gallon, 6 cents higher than the previous record from 2013.
GasBuddy expects that gasoline prices will continue to rise in the days ahead, and could be just days away from setting a new all-time record high and continuing to rise through summer. Seasonal factors including increased demand for gas, refinery maintenance and the switch to summer blend gas, on top of current geopolitical tensions, could propel prices upward of $4.25 per gallon by Memorial Day.
Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk said late last week that he supported increasing domestic oil and gas drilling to offset energy problems that the U.S. is facing due to policies from the Biden administration and the war in Europe.
“Hate to say it, but we need to increase oil & gas output immediately. Extraordinary times demand extraordinary measures,” Musk tweeted. “Obviously, this would negatively affect Tesla, but sustainable energy solutions simply cannot react instantaneously to make up for Russian oil & gas exports.”
