U.S. Average Gas Prices Up Nearly 9 Cents in Last Week Amid Russia Invasion

The national average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gas in the U.S. has increased by nearly 9 cents in the last week amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Oil prices rose to a seven-year high after the attack began on February 24, driving up prices at the pump across the U.S. Russia's role as one of the world's top oil producers has raised concerns about how markets would react if the production or distribution of oil were to be impacted by the escalating military conflict.

Industry experts were hesitant last week to predict exactly how much gas prices could rise, though some suggested most states could see increases of 5 to 10 cents per gallon in the coming weeks, with a national average of $4 per gallon possible by April or May.

By Tuesday, data from the American Automobile Association (AAA) showed the national average price per gallon reached $3.619, up nearly 9 cents compared with the national average cost recorded one week earlier. Tuesday's prices reflected an increase of about 90 cents compared with this time last year, when national average gas prices reached $2.72 on March 1, 2021. Despite the nearly 9-cent increase recorded over the last week, Tuesday's prices were still nearly 50 cents shy of the national record of $4.114 per gallon, which the U.S. set in July 2008.

"I've never seen a rise like this before," AAA spokesperson Andrew Gross told Newsweek. "But we've also never had these kinds of circumstances like we're facing right now, like the world is facing right now."

Whether or not the increases continue "depends on this war and what's going on inside Vladimir Putin's mind," according to Gross.

"You can see how the shockwaves to the global oil market have been almost immediately reflected for consumers here at the pump," he said.

In California, where gas prices tend to be higher than in other states, the statewide average cost of a gallon of regular unleaded gas was $4.837 on Tuesday, an increase of nearly 10 cents compared to the price recorded one week ago. California has routinely set new gas price records in recent days, with another set on Tuesday. Some California counties were reporting gas price averages above $5.50 per gallon, according to AAA data.

Gross noted there are now "several" states with average gas prices above $4, a circumstance he said was occurring "for the first time that I can recall in a long time."

U.S. President Joe Biden said last week his administration would use "every tool at our disposal" to help alleviate the pressures American consumers are feeling at the pump. On Tuesday, the International Energy Agency announced its member countries will release 60 million barrels of oil from emergency reserves, half of which were to be released by the U.S.

Gross told Newsweek the anticipated release of emergency oil reserves is "nice" but "not enough" when considering the size of the world's total oil consumption. Even so, he said the move "may help calm things a little bit and assuage some nerves."