Gasoline Prices Rise Across US Again, Experts Warn More Pain at Pump Coming

The price of gasoline has risen across the United States again as experts warn that more pain could lie ahead at the pumps for Americans.

The average price of a gallon of regular-grade gasoline currently stands at $3.488, an increase of more than 30 percent since the same time last year, when it was $2.505 a gallon, according to data from the American Automobile Association (AAA).

In the last week, the price of regular-grade gasoline has soared nearly 1.4 percent, from $3.441.

According to the latest data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), total domestic gasoline stocks decreased by 1.6 million barrels to 248.4 million last week.

Meanwhile, demand for gasoline increased from 8.23 million barrels per day to 9.13 million barrels per day, resulting in a disparity between demand and supply.

The rising cost of crude oil, driven by loosening COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions and economies rebounding from the recession, is also putting continued pressure on prices.

And Americans are set to pay even more at the pumps in the future, AAA warned on Feb.10.

“Pump prices will likely continue to follow suit as demand grows and stocks decrease if crude prices continue to climb,” AAA said.

Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) increased by 22 cents to settle at $89.88 at the close of the Feb. 10 formal trading session.

“WTI $94, national average gas price will eclipse $3.50/gal this week,” Patrick De Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at Gas Buddy, warned on Feb. 14.

Additionally, EIA reported that total domestic crude stocks decreased by 4.8 million barrels on Feb. 4 to 410.4 million.

“The current stock level is approximately 13 percent lower than at the beginning of February 2021, contributing to pressure on domestic crude prices,” AAA noted.

Since Feb. 3, the states of Delaware, New Mexico, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, New Jersey, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky have seen the highest increases in the price of gasoline.

Customers visiting pumps in Delaware have seen a 22 cent increase in the price of gasoline, according to AAA, while New Mexico follows closely behind with an 18 cents increase. Pennsylvania vehicle owners have seen a 10 cents increase while those in Kentucky are paying 9 cents more.

AAA said that the ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine are also contributing to rising oil prices, given that Russia is a member of OPEC+, crude-producing allies of The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

Thus, any sanctions based on their actions toward Ukraine may cause it to withhold crude oil from the global market, AAA said.

However, OPEC has dismissed requests to drastically pump more oil, which combined with the Ukraine crisis has created further instabilities in the market.

The Biden administration insists that a Russian invasion of Ukraine is imminent and could take place before the end of the Beijing Winter Olympics, which are set to finish on Feb. 20.

Western leaders have promised to apply sanctions on Kremlin officials “the likes of which we have not looked at before,” if President Vladimir Putin invades the former Soviet republic.

“I think we’ve been very clear with Mr. Putin about the economic consequences that could come his way and the way the Russian people should he further incur, invade inside Ukraine,” Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby told Fox News Sunday in January.

“I think we’ve been very, very clear that we’re going to look at sanctions and economic consequences, the likes of which we have not looked at before even considering even as far back as 2014,” he added.

However, the Pentagon spokesperson also emphasized that the current situation “doesn’t have to come to conflict.”

On Feb. 13, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky invited President Joe Biden to visit Kyiv in what he believes would be a powerful move that could help deescalate and stabilize the situation with Russia.

If you buy an EV, you are simply doing what the Satanic psychopaths “in charge” want you to do.

An overpriced POS that will not support you in an emergency during freezing conditions.

An overpriced POS that will probably cost you more than a gas-powered car and it’s standard gas cost requirements.

An overpriced POS that causes you significant delays when traveling long-range and you have to stop to “charge up.”

An overpriced POS that is TOTALLY DEPENDENT on an overpriced, under-maintained, and overworked power grid that could easily be shut off or fail if the government wills it.

You will be stripping yourself of some basic freedoms if you surrender to their toy car program.

You are wrong about me and my purpose for an EV in every way.

For starters, because my wife and I need two cars anyway we'll have 1 EV and 1 gas car. The gas car is superior to the EV in the situations you described. While the EV is superior to the gas car in other situations. Why not have the best of both worlds?

My home solar system has given me a certain amount of INDEPENDENCE I didn't have before. As I continue to adjust my budget to move into retirement, one thing I don't lose sleep over anymore are the electricity prices and natural gas prices keeping on rising more than a reasonable 3% per year. Basically my now all-electric house has a hair over half of the power supplied from the solar system -- which is independent from the grid -- independent from gubment control. As the globalists try to control us more and more through energy costs they have to work harder to do that to me as far as powering my house goes. I'd like to extend that to at least one of our cars.

I believe I could power an EV with about 30% to 50% of free power I already produce that's on some days more than I can use in my house. Since I can't stop the Dims from jacking up gas prices, I might as well switch over one of my cars to being powered by something I produce without them: electricity.

Ford's $40K F-150 Lightning has my eye (close to $45K after you add the towing package and taxes). Assuming the price of gas goes up 3% per year (what a joke, we both know it'll go up faster than that), not getting an oil change twice per year (again 3% inflation), not buying another used pickup every 4-7 years for $8K to $10K like I do now, I'd be saving on those costs. But I'd have an additional cost of replacing the EV battery in 10-12 years for $10K to $15K.

Without an EV my solar system will pay for itself in 9-11 years (that includes paying the interest on the HELOC I took out to buy the solar system and convert my two gas appliances to electric), again assuming 3% inflation in power rates and natural gas rates, and assuming my solar system does like is warranted with the home batteries having a slight degradation during their 19-year warranty until they're 50% as good at the end of the warranty. (Likewise with the solar panels being 70% as good at the end of their 25-year warranty.) That's not based on hopey-feely numbers, but on the actual throughput I got from the system this past year.

Do all the math again with an EV and the entire project (EV + solar system + convert house to all-electric) will pay for itself in 11-12 years (again, including interest on car payments). All while giving me a hedge against gasoline price inflation like I already have against electricity and natural gas price inflation.

But if you like living a life where the Dims can keep controlling you through sky high energy costs, then by all means keep living your "freedom" and poking fun at me making myself a little more free from government energy bureaucrats.

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