PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Wallets are burning for drivers across Central Illinois as the nation’s average gas price rose for the 10th week straight.
According to GasBuddy’s weekly survey of 148 stations in Peoria, the price of a gallon rose 46.8 cents in the past week. Gas prices in Peoria are 71.5 cents per gallon higher than a month ago.
The cheapest gas price in the area is listed at $4.15 while the most expensive price is listed at $4.69 per gallon, a difference of 54 cents per gallon.
Comparatively, gas prices across the state average $4.31 per gallon, up 46.7 cents from last week’s price. Champaign’s average price rose to $4.18 per gallon, and in the Quad Cities, the average price rose to $3.96 per gallon.
GasBuddy Petroleum Analysis Head Patrick De Haan had few words to describe the recent spike in gas and diesel prices, especially as oil prices jumped to their highest price 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. California could be heading for $5.50 per gallon, with more stations charging $6 and beyond,” De Haan said in a blog post.
As many nations continue to sanction Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, De Haan said the nation has, “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.”
Patrick De Haan, GasBuddy Petroleum Analysis Head
AAA Spokesperson Andrew Gross said the International Energy Agency (IEA) announced a coordinated release of crude oil last week from its 31 member countries’ strategic reserves, which include the U.S., Germany, Canada, South Korea, and Mexico.
IEA officials said member states committed to releasing a total of 61.7 million oilfield barrels from their strategic reserves to reassure markets roiled by the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
However, that amount is small compared to the daily flow of Russian oil lost in the sanctions, meaning the impact on prices is limited. According to IEA, Russia exports approximately 5 million b/d of crude oil, representing about 12% of its global trade.
