The average U.S. gas price surged to an all-time high Tuesday and prices were expected to keep rising as President Joe Biden moved toward banning Russian oil imports.
The average cost of a retail gallon of gasoline hit $4.173, according to the American Automobile Association.
The previous national average record was $4.11, set July 17, 2008, according to AAA.
Prices had surpassed $5 a gallon in some parts of the country, the world's largest gasoline-consuming nation. California, at $5.44, had the highest average price for regular unleaded gas.
Gasoline costs, which began rising amid escalating inflation, have surged since Russia began its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
The Associated Press reported Tuesday that Biden had decided to ban Russian oil imports, toughening the toll on Russia's economy in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The U.S. and allies have imposed heavy sanctions on Russia, the largest exporter of petroleum in the world. President Vladimir Putin's country exports 4 million to 5 million barrels of crude daily and 2 million to 3 million barrels of refined products.
Former President Donald Trump released a statement Tuesday amid news of the rising gas prices.
"Breaking news: highest gas prices in history! Do you miss me yet?" Trump said in a statement released by his Save America joint fundraising committee.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at fuel-savings GasBuddy, said Monday that prices "won't improve any time soon."
"Americans have never seen gasoline prices this high, nor have we seen the pace of increases so fast and furious," De Haan said in a statement. "That combination makes this situation all the more remarkable and intense, with crippling sanctions on Russia curbing their flow of oil, leading to the massive spike in the price of all fuels: gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and more.
"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. GasBuddy now expects the yearly national average to rise to its highest ever recorded."
Oil prices running at their hottest level in 14 years were poised to cut post-COVID-19 pandemic fuel demand as consumers react to surging pump and power prices by pulling back on spending and travel, top energy executives warned Monday.
Global oil futures hit as much as $139 a barrel this week as gasoline, diesel and power prices rose to multiyear highs.
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