US Gas Prices Set New National Record

The national average of a gallon of gas in the United States hit a record high on March 7 as prices soar amid the Russia–Ukraine war.

The average price nationwide hit $4.104 on Monday, breaking the record of $4.103 set in 2008, according to GasBuddy.

The record came after the national average spiked 49 cents in just one week, breaking the previous one-week spike set in 2005, the gas-tracking company said.

“Americans have never seen gasoline prices this high, nor have we seen the pace of increases so fast and furious,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said in a statement. “It’s a dire situation and won’t improve any time soon. The high prices are likely to stick around for not days or weeks, like they did in 2008, but months.”

Experts say the price increases stem from the war, which involves one of the world’s major oil producers.

Russia was the world’s third-largest producer of petroleum in 2020, behind the United States and Saudi Arabia, exporting much of its supply to Europe, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Sanctions on Russia for invading Ukraine have caused ripple effects across multiple sectors, including the energy sector.