ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The average price for a gallon of gas climbed to record highs Monday, ending the day at $4.14, or almost four cents above the previous record set in 2008.
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Around Orlando, customers spent most of the day paying well above that. The average gallon of gasoline cost $4.19 mid-afternoon, climbing 21 cents above its morning average of $3.98, according to AAA.
“Prices just seem to be going up daily, which is quite disturbing,” Flora Tovar said, while filling up her tank with diesel in Seminole County.
Prices have been spiraling as Russian President Vladimir Putin takes an increasingly aggressive approach to his invasion of Ukraine. His shift from precision military assault, which failed to quickly overwhelm defense forces, to a brutal bombardment of major cities and towns, is drawing more and more sanctions from Ukrainian allies.
READ: Central Florida woman pays more than $8 a gallon at the pump
The latest conversation among western nations about banning imported Russian oil or weaning economies off it has roiled oil markets — sending the stock market crashing and global oil and gas prices soaring.
University of Central Florida economist Sean Snaith believed gas prices were heading to the $4 range before the invasion began, and Russia’s moves just sped up the timeline.
“All the other issues with the supply chain and the labor market and inflation, at 7.5% were all present before the conflict and Europe,” he said.
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Snaith said prices will likely continue to rise through the typical Memorial Day peak, predicting another 25 to 50 cent rise before costs stabilize.
AAA analysts said a further 10 cent increase could happen before this week ends.
“I think this [war] will drag out and then people will adjust to whatever this sort of longer run slog is going to look like, in terms of the global economy,” Snaith predicted, adding that he was in the dark as anyone about the future.
READ: AAA: Florida gas prices ‘skyrocket’, race toward record high
He said issues closer to home would impact Americans more in other areas, limiting the damage of a protracted war to gas prices and slightly more economic uncertainty. The Federal Reserve’s upcoming interest rate hike would likely begin to slow inflation, he said, which would counter the increased pressure coming from Europe.
As for an exit back to normalcy, Snaith predicted the economy wouldn’t be able to recover before 2023. Even then, he said the transition from turmoil to calm would be rough.
“If it’s a soft landing or a soft return to normalcy, it will come with pretty severe turbulence along the way,” he said.
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