The $4.02 price is the highest since August 2022. As it is a national average, drivers in some states will have already been paying more than $4 a gallon.<\/p>\n
Average prices are still below the record highs of $5.01 for gas and $5.81 for diesel, set in June 2022 in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n
But the run-up in prices could have a bigger impact on household budgets this time, ratings agency Moody’s warned in a report, adding that the job market and wage growth is weaker today. <\/p>\n
“If the conflict is contained soon, the hit to confidence may be temporary,” Moody’s analysts wrote. “But a prolonged crisis could prompt more precautionary saving and further discretionary spending cuts.”<\/p>\n
Higher wholesale energy prices often show up first at the fuel pump and this is being seen, not just in the US but around the world.<\/p>\n
In the UK, average petrol prices have risen by 14% and diesel by 27% since the war began.<\/p>\n
Some countries, such as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, have introduced fuel rationing, and last week Slovenia became the first EU country to do so<\/a>.<\/p>\n