
Analysts are warning that gas prices will continue to rise in the midst of Russia’s war with Ukraine, with one expert noting that Americans should budget for $5/gallon gas “within weeks.”
The current national average price of gas is $3.84 a gallon according to data from AAA – up over 41 cents from last month, 26 cents from last week, and over 10 cents from just yesterday.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, tweeted a grim outlook going forward for the average person’s budget.
“We’re getting closer to seeing our first ever major city gas price average reach $5/gal,” he warned on Tuesday.
De Haan listed a handful of cities that were approaching the $5/gallon mark for gas.
We’re getting closer to seeing our first ever major city gas price average reach $5/gal:
San Francisco $4.92
Los Angeles $4.88
Oakland $4.86
San Jose $4.85
San Diego $4.84
It will happen in the next couple weeks.— Patrick De Haan ⛽️? (@GasBuddyGuy) March 1, 2022
RELATED: White House: Get Ready For Gas Prices To Soar Even Higher
$5 For a Gallon of Gas
Since De Haan’s tweet warning about $5/gallon gas in the “next couple of weeks” on Tuesday, every single one of those cities shot past the mark by a significant margin. It took days, not weeks.
- San Francisco, according to AAA, is now averaging $5.21.
- Los Angeles – $5.15.
- Oakland – $5.13.
- San Jose – $5.11.
- San Diego – $5.10.
Buzz Patterson took a picture of prices in Thousand Oaks, California, where regular octane is an astonishing $5.39/gallon:
Just now. Democrats did this. pic.twitter.com/1cejAfwjdG
— Buzz Patterson (@BuzzPatterson) March 3, 2022
The White House warned last week that gas prices were likely to rise as a result of the administration’s policies towards Ukraine and Russia.
Truth be told, Americans were already suffering through a tough year at the gas pump well before the war in Eastern Europe.
That said, it’s certainly not helping.
“We think the Russia-Ukraine war will intensify global and U.S. inflation pressures by pushing up oil and gas prices,” Brian Coulton, chief economist with credit rating agency Fitch, told CBS News.
The average price of gas:
Jan 20, 2021: $1.86
Today: $4.10Share this with anyone claiming Russia’s invasion is to blame for crazy gas prices.
— The?FOO (@PolitiBunny) March 4, 2022
RELATED: Biden Makes False Claim That Five Police Officers Were Killed During The January 6 Capitol Riot
White House Won’t Ban Russian Oil
The White House on Thursday rejected bipartisan calls to ban Russian oil imports saying it would increase already skyrocketing gas prices.
Instead, they suggested Americans rely less on oil in the first place and shift to clean energy solutions.
“What we can do over time and what this is a … reminder of, in the President’s view, is our need to reduce our reliance on oil,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters.
Psaki faces BRUTAL questions on energy:
“Why not…increase domestic production here?”
“Is there nothing that the administration can do?”
“We should just continue to buy Russian oil?”
“Aren’t we financing the war?”
Psaki says we should invest in clean energy. pic.twitter.com/8mbV3fpLqK
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 3, 2022
When reporters attempted to ask President Biden himself if he would ban Russian oil imports during a Cabinet meeting, aides stepped in and kicked them out.
Following brief remarks from Biden ahead of a cabinet meeting about Ukraine, he does not take questions as reporters get kicked out of the room. pic.twitter.com/dOKY7GgKYU
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) March 3, 2022
The American people’s pain isn’t simply taking place at the pump. It’s hitting them in the wallet in general.
While the media and White House focus on recovering jobs that were lost due to pandemic lockdowns, they continue to ignore your much lighter wallet.
In February, nominal wages increased by 5.1% year over year. Sounds great, right? Negative.
The consumer price index has been above 5.1% since June, and spiked by 7.5% since January 2021 – a 40 year high. Real wages, in reality, have gone down in the Biden economy.
Seems like only yesterday Democrats were celebrating gas prices dropping by under a nickel and bragging about Fourth of July cookout savings at a rate of 16 cents.
If you save that 16-cent savings for 30 straight Independence Day barbecues you’ll be able to purchase a gallon of gas – in 31 years.