BALTIMORE, MD—The national average price of gasoline in the U.S. on Monday broke the existing record, rewriting the all-time high to Monday’s $4.104 per gallon, according to GasBuddy. The previous all-time high was set back in 2008 at $4.103 per gallon, just ahead of the U.S. Great Recession and housing crisis. The national average price of diesel is also nearing a new record, now at $4.63 per gallon, likely to break the record of $4.846 per gallon in the next two weeks.

In addition to setting a new all-time high, the national average is seeing its largest ever 7-day spike: 49.1 cents per gallon, eclipsing the 49.0 cent weekly rise after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Many gas price records have been broken due to the Russia/Ukraine conflict, which has pushed many countries to impose severe sanctions on Russia, curbing Russian exports of crude oil to the global market.

On Saturday, the U.S. national average gas price surpassed $4 per gallon for the first time since 2008, and Friday’s spike alone came close to the record daily rise of 18 cents per gallon, increasing nearly 16 cents per gallon in one day. Diesel prices, however, did break records on Friday, as diesel soared to its largest daily gain ever: 22.2 cents per gallon, 6 cents higher than the previous record from 2013.

“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,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “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.”

GasBuddy recommends drivers limit fuel consumption if possible, and to drive more fuel efficiently to help ease the strain on oil supply and potentially lessen the intensity of future price increases.

The latest gas prices in and around the Nottingham area are available here.

Photo by Ingo Joseph from Pexels