Gas prices were already uncommonly high in the United States, even before Russia invaded Ukraine. But now, they have reached historically high levels, with more record-breaking numbers likely to come. 

Average gas prices in the United States have exceeded $4 a gallon, GasBuddy reported over the weekend, the highest average since 2008. As of last Friday, the site said, the increase last week was the second-highest weekly gain since September 3, 2005, which was the week of Hurricane Katrina. “This is a milestone that was hard to imagine happening so quickly, but with bipartisan support of severe sanctions on Russia, is not exactly surprising – it is the cost of choking off Russia from energy revenue,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, said in the release. “As Russia’s war on Ukraine continues to evolve and we head into a season where gas prices typically increase, Americans should prepare to pay more for gas than they ever have before. Shopping and paying smart at the pump will be critical well into summer.”

In its regular Monday report, GasBuddy described the last week as “one of the most profound weeks at the pump,” as the average price rose for the tenth consecutive week after there were signs of lowering prices in the closing weeks of 2021. The average price rose 46.5 cents over the last week, to $4.06 per gallon. GasBuddy also predicted that average gas prices will likely set an all-time record on Monday. 

The average gas price in the state of California hit $5 a gallon for the first time, late last week, with the average also approaching $5 a gallon in the Chicago area, NBC Chicago reported Monday. 

“There are few words to describe the unprecedented rise in gasoline prices over the last week, with massive spikes coast to coast in both gasoline and diesel prices, as oil prices jump to their highest since 2008. Forget the $4 per gallon mark, the nation will soon set new all-time record highs and we could push closer to a national average of $4.50/gal,” DeHaan said in Monday’s report. “We’ve never been in this situation before, with this level of uncertainty. As we lose a major global producer under the weight of deserving bipartisan sanctions for invading a sovereign country, the cost is high. Americans will be feeling the pain of the rise in prices for quite some time, with little good news foreseen.”

According to AAA, the national average hit $4.06 as of Monday, which is approaching the record average price of $4.11 a gallon, set in the summer of 2008. 

Stephen Silver, a technology writer for The National Interest, is a journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philly Voice, Philadelphia Weekly, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Living Life Fearless, Backstage magazine, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.

Image: Reuters.