Close up of gas pump in a gas station|Wuestenigel|CC BY 2.0
The national average price for a gallon of standard unleaded gasoline surpassed $4 for the first time since 2008 on Sunday. The increase of 11% saw gasoline prices up by almost 50 cents in the two weeks since Russia invaded Ukraine. According to the automobile club, AAA, the national average was $4.009 on Sunday, down approximately 10 cents from the record high of $4.114 set in July 2008. On Tuesday, during his State of the Union speech, President Joe Biden said that the US would release 30 million barrels from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve to safeguard customers from increasing oil costs. However, the average prices continued to rise to new highs.
