Gas prices soar as US crude rises to highest levels since 2008

Oil and gas prices are through the roof as investors fret over the continuing Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The national average price for a gallon of gasoline on Monday sat at $4.07. The U.S. oil benchmark, West Texas Intermediate crude futures, was pushing $118, a big increase from the $90 it was at before the war broke out. On Sunday, WTI crude briefly touched $130, the highest level since 2008.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has fueled concerns about global energy shortages given that Russia is one of the world’s largest producers of oil and that parts of Europe are reliant on its energy exports. While the United States and other Western countries have slapped sanctions on Moscow, there were energy carve-outs included to insulate the global economy.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been calling for the U.S. and its allies to sanction Russia’s oil industry and cut off its ability to export crude. Some U.S. lawmakers have also been working on a bill to ban Russian oil imports to the U.S.

Despite the mounting pressure to act against Russia’s oil industry, President Joe Biden has so far resisted calls to act. He has not ruled out sanctioning the country’s energy sector, although he has insisted that “nothing is off the table.”