Retail gas prices hit a record in the US on Tuesday, surpassing levels seen in the early days of Vladimir Putin’s attempted conquest of Ukraine.
Regular gasoline jumped more than four cents to $4.37 a gallon, AAA said. That eclipsed the previous high of $4.33 reached on March 11 (figure below).
Prices have risen nearly 20 cents in just the past week. The average, nationwide price for premium grade exceeded $5.00.
“More expensive oil means more expensive gasoline,” Andrew Gross, a spokesperson for AAA said Monday. “These prices are creeping closer to those record high levels of early March.”
Less than 24 hours later, “those record high levels” were breached. Americans are now paying, on average, the most ever for a gallon of gas. On a nominal basis, at least.
Prices would need to climb another dollar to surpass the all-time, inflation-adjusted peak of $5.30 per gallon set in 2008 (figure above).
Tuesday’s dubious milestone came at a decidedly inopportune time for the White House. Joe Biden was scheduled to deliver remarks on inflation just before noon.
The business pages will be dominated on Wednesday by coverage of April’s CPI report which, even in a best case scenario, will still show America laboring beneath the most acute price pressures Millennials have ever witnessed.
The figure (above) shows the evolution of prices by year.
Crude was under pressure early this week as the EU struggled to finalize terms for an embargo of Russian oil. At the same time, falling stock prices and a stronger dollar undercut commodities, while ongoing COVID lockdowns in China conjured fresh demand concerns.
There’s little sign of demand destruction in the US, which could continue to support prices, especially to the extent state and local governments are inclined to subsidize gas ahead of the summer driving season.
Thanks, H., for the reporting.
We are, indeed, a self-centered, geographically separated, semi-conscious, fearful and anxious people. That includes me. I walk the same ground and move in the same circles and have the same impulses. This mix of facts and opinion comes from my own perspective. Feel free to disagree.
Many among us in fact experience not merely discomfort, but genuine difficulty when the price of fuel rises. I don’t know the proportions among us who have this experience. It’s real. But at the same time, I see first-hand stories almost every day about people like us being blown up or shot dead in Ukraine. The sanctions against Russia and the impacts on markets are absolutely necessary. Unless someone has another idea, I wish there was another way. But I don’t believe there is.
I appreciate the mention about the inflation-adjusted peak from 2008. A scary memory, but it provides valuable perspective in today’s inflation conversation.
I’m really disappointed every time I see stories with such intellectually dishonest headlines. While I expect it from tabloids and mainstream media, I expect better from a source that understands so completely the difference between nominal and real.
Why isn’t THIS the (or at least part of the) headline: “Prices would need to climb another dollar to surpass the all-time, inflation-adjusted peak of $5.30 per gallon set in 2008” – ??
Not to minimize the pain for many Americans that this inflation causes…but really, on fuel prices, we’ve been there, done that, before. And I would bet that for most readers here – more than once. And that for most of us (fortunate as we are), it really doesn’t have much impact.