President Donald Trump issued a new statement to the American people as the nation suffers record-high gas prices under Joe Biden.
On Monday, the average price for a gallon of regular gas hit a staggering $4.17.
The figure marks a new all-time high, breaking the previous record of $4.11 a gallon that was set in July 2008.
Prices were already high because of supply shortages before Russia invaded Ukraine and before Biden banned imports of Russian oil.
Biden warned the USA to expect higher prices still when he made the call to ban Russian fuel.
“You could buy a different kind of vehicle or come up with different transportation options, but in the short run, you’re just kind of stuck with the gas prices,” said Carola Binder, associate professor of economics at Haverford College.
“It’s just going to mean you have less to spend on other things.”
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said:
“There are few words to describe the unprecedented rise in gasoline prices over the last week, with massive spikes coast to coast in both gasoline and diesel prices, as oil prices jump to their highest since 2008.
“Forget the $4 per gallon mark, the nation will soon set new all-time record highs and we could push closer to a national average of $4.50/gal.
“California could be heading for $5.50 per gallon with more stations charging $6 and beyond.
“We’ve never been in this situation before, with this level of uncertainty.
“As we lose a major global producer under the weight of deserving bipartisan sanctions for invading a sovereign country, the cost is high.
“Americans will be feeling the pain of the rise in prices for quite some time, with little good news foreseen.”
Enter Trump, who said simply:
“Breaking news: Highest gas prices in history! Do you miss me yet?”
.@POTUS45:
“BREAKING NEWS: HIGHEST GAS PRICES IN HISTORY! DO YOU MISS ME YET?” pic.twitter.com/kc23V2uLAe
— Natalie Harp (@NatalieJHarp) March 8, 2022
GasBuddy released a statement about the skyrocketing gas prices that said:
Crude oil prices were making additional gains in early Monday trade, with West Texas Intermediate crude oil up $2.31 per barrel, or 2%, to $117.99, up from last Monday’s $95.80 per barrel level, but also well off Sunday evening’s high of $125 per barrel.
Brent crude was also up $3.79 per barrel to $121.90 as crippling sanctions hit Russia’s ability to export crude oil, leading Russia to plead with world markets by offering the largest discounts ever on their crudes.
Volatility will likely remain as rumors swirl about the potential for the U.S. to officially target Russia’s energy sector for severe sanctions, which could push oil prices up further.
According to Baker Hughes, last week’s U.S. rig count was unchanged at 650 and was 247 rigs higher than a year ago.
The Canadian rig count fell by 7 to 217, or 76 more than a year ago.
According to the Energy Information Administration, crude oil inventories fell 2.6 million barrels last week, alongside a 2.4 million barrel decline in the nation’s strategic reserve, leaving oil inventories 12% below the five-year average for this time of year.
Domestic crude oil production saw a slight boost from the lower 48 of 100,000bpd, while Alaska production sagged by 18,000bpd.
Gasoline inventories fell a manageable 500,000 barrels and stand near the five-year average, while distillate inventories fell 600,000bpd and are 16% below the five-year average for this time of year.
Refinery utilization rose 0.3 percentage points to reach 87.7% as refinery maintenance season is ongoing.
According to GasBuddy demand data driven by its Pay with GasBuddy card, U.S. retail gasoline demand saw a rise last week (Sun-Sat).
Nationally, weekly gasoline demand rose 0.3% from the prior week, while demand rose 0.3% in PADD 1, fell 0.2% in PADD 2, rose 2.8% in PADD 3, fell 2.1% in PADD 4, and fell 2.8% in PADD 5.
Pres. Biden warns gas prices will rise further as a result of ban on Russian oil imports: “I’m going to do everything I can to minimize Putin’s price hike here at home.” https://t.co/ZwdF5mLC2a pic.twitter.com/fTfF9lwKJM
— ABC News (@ABC) March 8, 2022
