NEW YORK (NewsNation) — Crude oil prices spiked 7% Monday, as the European Union again begins to consider shutting off Russian oil imports.
U.S. gasoline futures jumped 5% in response, bubbling the price of a barrel of oil back up to an average of $112 a barrel, just as drivers in some states were starting to see a little relief at the pump, with prices dropping a few cents nationwide.
NewsNation’s Paul Gerke reported from Manhattan, already famous as one of the most expensive places in the country to fill up, that energy prices have been all over the map for the last month. The price per barrel for oil is still less than it was at its peak, but it appears any relief at the pump may be short-lived.
The national average price for a gallon of gas dropped 11 cents over the past week, from $4.36 to $4.25. But overnight Monday, crude oil futures rose again. Global benchmark Brent crude, eclipsed $115/barrel, scotching any hopes of longterm relief at the pump.
Auto club AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins told Gerke, “There is some upward movement in oil prices right now because the European Union is considering a ban on Russian oil, so that’s creating some upward pressure on oil prices. But, they’re not nearly back to where they were a couple of weeks ago.”
Any decrease in the cost of crude has been slow to trickle down to drivers at the pump, especially out west. Driver in Nevada are actually paying 16 cents/gallon more than they were a week ago, and in California the jump is 11 cents.
It’s a different story on the East Coast, though, with drivers in Maryland seeing a precipitous 46-cent drop per gallon. Modest dips have come in Delaware, Florida and North Carolina, as well.
All price dips aside, though, the price per gallon is still hovering above $4. An EU embargo on Russian oil could mean trouble for global supply, but will that mean even higher prices at the pump. Jenkins says that the EU embargo likelihood has already been baked into the gas price, and that increase moved in at the beginning of March.
Usually at this time of year, more drivers are hitting the road as the weather improves. But according to AAA, there was actually a slight drop in demand last week, likely due to gas prices. In a new survey, 75% of Americans said they’d have to make adjustments to their lifestyles if gas prices hit $5/gallon, and that mark has already been hit in some parts of the country.