Get ready to pay even more at the pump – perhaps as much as $5 per gallon or more.
Some consumers are already paying more than that: The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in San Francisco hit the $5 mark Thursday. That’s the first time a U.S. city has hit an average that high, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at fuel-savings app GasBuddy.
But the entire state of California will likely hit that mark in the next week or two, and major cities nationwide will likely follow suit, De Haan told USA TODAY. “Some large cities could hit $5/gal but not yet immediately,” he said.
Gas prices topping $4 per gallon by Memorial Day had been predicted prior to Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
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BREAKING: for the first time ever a US city has breached the $5/gal per gallon average. San Francisco!
— Patrick De Haan ⛽️? (@GasBuddyGuy) March 3, 2022
Highest gas prices in the US
Since Monday, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline has increased by 11 cents to $3.72, according to AAA. Prices averaged $3.54 a week ago and $3.41 a month ago, the organization said.
California is the most expensive market in the U.S., averaging $4.94 per gallon, AAA said, followed by Hawaii ($4.63), Oregon ($4.16), Nevada ($4.13), Washington ($4.11), Alaska ($4.03), Illinois ($4.02), New York ($3.93), Pennsylvania ($3.88), and Connecticut, ($3.85)
The rise in gas prices nationally is primarily due to the Ukraine-Russia conflict “and the fact that American and (European Union) sanctions are having a severe impact on Russia’s ability to sell crude oil, thus crude prices have skyrocketed,” said De Haan of Gas Buddy. The tech company’s app provides real-time gas price information for more than 150,000 stations nationwide.
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OPEC+, which includes OPEC members, Russia and other non-cartel members, has agreed to continue to increase oil production. Sanctions against Russia, one of the world’s largest energy suppliers, could result in oil buyers losing access to a key oil seller.
The price of crude oil, a key determiner for gas prices, surpassed $110 a barrel Wednesday.
President Joe Biden has warned that sanctions against Russia and other moves to defend Ukraine will cost Americans, and many people began to notice increased prices at the pump last week as the invasion commenced.
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“I will do everything in my power to limit the pain the American people are feeling at the gas pump,” Biden said last month. “This is critical to me.”
The U.S. and its allies released 60 million barrels of oil from their strategic reserves this week, but a similar move in November 2021 had little lasting effect.
Demand could increase with COVID restrictions loosening and warmer weather prompting road trips, De Haan said in a press release released Thursday. San Francisco’s record-setting average price “is likely just the beginning of a larger trend of price spikes to come to California and the entire country,” he said.
Highest gas price increases in the US
Places where gas price averages have risen the most since last week, AAA said, are Michigan (+39 cents), Indiana (+36 cents), Illinois (+31 cents) and Ohio (+30 cents).
Contributing: The Associated Press
Follow Mike Snider on Twitter: @mikesnider.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gas prices: Ukraine-Russia war drives fuel to $5 per gallon or more
