The average price of diesel fuel in the United States reached $5 per gallon on Wednesday, according to gas price tracking service GasBuddy.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said on Twitter that diesel prices have reached the “highest level ever recorded.”
President Biden announced a ban on Russian oil, gas and energy imports to the United States on Tuesday amid the country’s decision to invade Ukraine, sparking a war that has killed at least 516 people and injured another 908, according to figures posted by the United Nations on Wednesday.
While announcing the sanctions, Biden said that Americans will feel the effects of the ban on Russian oil imports.
“Putin’s war is already hurting American families at the gas pump since Putin began his military buildup on Ukrainian borders,” Biden said. “And with this action, it’s going to go up further. I’m going to do everything I can to minimize Putin’s price hike here at home and coordination with our partners.”
GasBuddy announced on Monday that the average price of gasoline has hit an all-time record of $4.104 per gallon, beating the old record of $4.103 per gallon, reached in 2008.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said that the price increases are partially due to the sanctions placed on Russia.
“Americans have never seen gasoline prices this high, nor have we seen the pace of increases so fast and furious. 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,” De Haan said.
He added that gasoline prices are expected to continue to rise.
“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,” De Haan said.
