China News Agency, New York, March 8 (Reporter Wang Fan) According to data released by the American Automobile Association on the 8th, the average gasoline price in the United States rose to $4.173 per gallon that day, breaking the record set in July 2008.
The national average gasoline price was $3.619 a gallon a week ago, meaning regular gasoline prices rose 15% over the past week, the biggest weekly gain in nearly 20 years, the data showed.
The national average gasoline price has risen more than 50% from $2.774 a gallon a year ago.
The American Automobile Association said the national average gasoline price hit a record high of $4.114 a gallon in July 2008.
The recent conflict between Russia and Ukraine has brought uncertainty to the international energy market, driving up crude oil prices and driving up gasoline prices in the United States.
The $4.173 per gallon recorded on the 8th set a new record for the average gasoline price in the United States.
The "Wall Street Journal" said that rising gasoline prices will push up industry production costs and increase inflationary pressures in the United States.
Spending in all industries, from corn to car manufacturing, will increase, hitting the U.S. consumer price index and driving up inflation.
On the 8th, US President Biden delivered a televised speech announcing a ban on energy imports from Russia, including oil and liquefied natural gas.
However, the specifics of the ban have not been released, and market speculation does not rule out exemptions, including the treatment of Russian energy products in transit.
Bloomberg News quoted analysts as saying that the U.S. market has digested the possibility of imposing a ban on energy imports from Russia in advance. The market did not produce unexpected negative effects.
However, international oil and gas prices are expected to remain high for a longer period of time unless the United States can quickly find effective measures to hedge the risks posed by the ban.
According to JPMorgan Chase's forecast, if Russia's oil exports are blocked and continue to affect the normal supply of the global oil market, international oil prices may reach $185 a barrel by the end of this year.
In intraday trading on the 8th, the price of light sweet crude oil futures for April delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fluctuated between $117.07 and $129.44 a barrel.
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