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The national average for a gallon of gas has topped $4 in the US for the first time since 2008 – an increase of nearly 50 cents since Russia launched its invasion into Ukraine 11 days ago.
The national average hit $4.009 cents on Sunday, according to AAA, just over 10 cents short of the $4.114 average recorded in July 2008. Prices jumped roughly 9 cents since Saturday and 47 cents since Russia’s invasion began.
California had the highest average at $5.288 per gallon and Missouri the lowest at $3.599. New York’s average was $4.207.
Lawmakers have called on the Biden administration to ban imports on Russian gas and oil in response to the Ukraine invasion. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday that President Biden is “looking at options” — but only if it can be done without raising gas prices.
On Sunday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US is in “active talks” with European allies about the prospect of banning Russian oil, further isolating the Russian economy.
“The actions we’ve taken to date have already had a devastating impact on the Russian economy,” he said on NBC. “We’ve seen the ruble in free fall. We see the economy heading into a deep recession. We’ve already had a major impact, but we are looking, again, as we speak, in coordination with allies and partners at this prospect of banning oil imports.”
During Biden’s State of the Union address last week, the president announced the US is tapping into 30 million barrels from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve to curb costs at the pump.
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