Jacksonville’s gas prices are feeling the crunch from the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The average cost for a gallon of gas in Jacksonville is $4.43 a gallon, the highest its been since at least 2008. It’s a penny higher than the state average of $4.42 a gallon, and 26 cents higher than the national average of $4.17. Eight of the 14 reporting stations have $4.59 a gallon listed as their price today. The lowest listed Jacksonville price is $4.19 a gallon.
Only one county in the region is reporting gas prices under $4 a gallon. Scott County is coming in at $3.93 on average today, according to AAA.
Last week, the International Energy Agency announced a coordinated release of 62 million barrels of crude oil from its 31 member countries’ strategic reserves, including the U.S., Germany, Canada, South Korea, and Mexico, to help counter the impact of rising crude prices. This amount—half of which is expected to come from the U.S.—is the largest coordinated release since IEA was founded in 1974. Despite this announcement, the impact on pricing has been limited given that the amount of oil planned for release is small in comparison to the amount that flows daily from Russia to other countries around the globe.
Barrels of crude oil were trading at just under $100 a barrel today during the opening of the stock market.
The market is going to be roiled further after President Joe Biden announced this afternoon a ban on the import of Russian energy products.
The instability of the market coupled with domestic oil production’s ramp up to meet demand will likely see the current trend at the pump to continue long as crude oil prices climb and the war in Ukraine continues.