How will Biden’s new sanctions on Russia impact Kentuckians at the gas pump?
Drivers will likely feel the impact of new U.S. sanctions against Russia at the gas pump, President Joe Biden signaled when he announced the measures Tuesday.
“As I said last week, defending freedom will have costs for us as well here at home. We need to be honest about that,” Biden said during a national address Tuesday. The move follows Russian President Vladimir Putin ordering troops into two separatist areas of Ukraine earlier this week.
“As we do this, I’m going to take robust action to make sure the pain of our sanctions is targeted at the Russian economy, not ours,” Biden said.
Average gas price ticks toward $4 per gallon
The average U.S. price for gas across every fuel grade ticked slightly upward Wednesday, according to data from AAA. The national average for regular unleaded fuel was up slightly at $3.53 per gallon.
Kentucky saw a similar increase, with the average price rising to about $3.22. As of Wednesday, the current average gas price for Lexington was roughly $3.22 per gallon.
However, even before Biden announced new sanctions against Russia, the nation saw its eighth consecutive week of rising gas prices, according to a GasBuddy analysis released Monday.
“For the eighth consecutive week, the nation’s average gas price has climbed, rising 3.2 cents from a week ago and stands at $3.52 per gallon,” reported GasBuddy, a website that tracks real-time fuel prices at more than 140,000 gas stations in the U.S., Canada and Australia.
“The national average is up 20.7 cents from a month ago and 88.9 cents per gallon higher than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has risen 5.7 cents in the last week and stands at $3.93 per gallon, the highest since May 20, 2014,” the report continued.
Where can I find the cheapest gas in Lexington?
Wednesday evening, prices around Lexington ranged from $3.09 at the Gulf on Waller Avenue to $3.39 at Marathon at Newton Pike.
You can find real-time gas prices with GasBuddy’s crowd-sourced map.
What can Biden do to control the price of gas?
Not much.
Any president has limited power to lower gas prices, but Biden does have some options he wants to exhaust.
“We’re executing a plan in coordination with major oil producing consumers and producers toward a collective investment to secure stability and global energy supplies. This’ll blunt gas prices. I want to limit the pain American people are feeling at the gas pump. This is critical to me,” Biden said, according to a transcript of his remarks on Russia made Tuesday.
In November, Biden tapped the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help drive down prices at the pump.
At the time, it was the largest-ever release of emergency crude reserves, CNN reported. Biden might be tempted to return to that well, but with crude oil now surging toward $100 a barrel, the results were fleeting.
This story was originally published February 24, 2022 at 7:00 AM.