Gas prices in the US soar above $4 a gallon

Gas prices in the United States soared to their highest level since 2008, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine disrupted the global energy market.

The average price of a gallon of gas was $4,009 on Sunday, AAA, an increase of 57 cents from the previous month. The highest price ever was in July 2008, when the average price was $4.114 per gallon. (When factoring in inflation, that equates to $5.25 a gallon today.)

Russia’s violent war on Ukraine, which has forced more than a million people to flee, has caused extreme volatility in energy markets, in part because Russia supplies 10% of the world’s oil and more than a third of the natural gas consumed in the European Union. .

Some refineries and traders have Stop buying crude oil from the country, even shipments that are offered at a huge discount. Refiners, shipping companies, insurers and banks are retreating because they fear getting out of the sanctions by doing business with Russia. Ukraine’s leaders are asking countries to stop buying Russian oil, and American politicians have done it I began to support this action.

The price of international benchmark Brent crude rose 7 percent to $118 a barrel on Friday. In early December, the barrel cost about $ 65.

Gas prices had already risen during the pandemic, in part due to fluctuations in supply and demand. Sharper prices for her Paid People have to reorganize family budgets, sometimes by giving up leisure activities and in other cases by cutting back on spending on necessities. Rising gas prices help fuel inflation, which It reached its highest level in 40 years in january.

Economists expect the Consumer Price Index, a closely watched measure of inflation released Thursday, will show consumer prices rose 7.9 percent in the year to February and 0.8 percent from the previous month. This could rise from 7.5 percent in the year to January, indicating that inflation has not yet peaked.