UPDATE (3/10/2022):
AAA announced that the statewide gas price average is now $4.00 a gallon, a new record.
The war in Ukraine continues to push feul prices across the U.S. to record highs.
Dr. Jim Lee, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi regents professor of economics says high gas prices plus inflation - which is at its highest in 40-50 years - will cause low income families to suffer the most.
“Its gonna hit a lot harder on lower income groups than say if you’re making $200,000 a year. It's important to understand,” he said.
Since these prices will only continue to creep up, AAA recommends you save money by making sure the tires on your vehicle aren't under inflated. That can decrease gas mileage by up to 10 percent.
ORIGINAL STORY:
AAA said there's been daily spikes across the country and it will likely continue as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine causes the price of oil to increase.
While we are experiencing high gas prices at the gas stations across the country, President Joe Biden said he is moving forward with a ban on Russian oil imports, knowing the United States produces more oil than all European countries combined.
“That means Russian oil will no longer be acceptable at US ports and the American people will deal another powerful blow," President Biden announced Tuesday.
The Texas Tribune confirmed Russian imports make up about seven percent of all U.S. oil imports.
Dr. Jim Lee, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi regents professor of economics, said that shouldn't affect Texas.
“All these companies are not operating in Russia, they are not importing from Russia anymore,” said Lee.
Lee said big companies like BP, Shell, and Exxon had already cut ties with Russia, but because crude oil is a global commodity, we can expect to see high gas prices for some time.
“At least for a month or two, we’ll continue to see $4 dollars in gas prices,” he said.
The current statewide average is close to breaking a record. AAA's Daniel Armbruster said that will probably happen by the end of the week.
“In July 2008, it set a record of $3.98. Today, it's sitting at $3.85,” said Armbruster.
Armbruster said when you break down a gallon of gas, the cost of crude oil is half of that including local taxes and fees, distribution costs and getting that from the storage tank to the convince store.
