CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Chicago area prices for regular gas have reached levels they’ve never been before: $4.49 per gallon.
“Chicago prices up 50 cents a gallon in the last week alone,” according to oil industry analyst Patrick DeHaan of GasBuddy.com.
DeHaan said Chicago has seen some of the sharpest and quickest gas price increases going back to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 all due to sanctions against Russia which is the world’s 2nd largest producer of oil behind the United States.
Could the Chicagoans see $5 a gallon here?
“I think that’s certainly within the realm of possibility. I don’t yet see it as a guarantee but it is a very strong likelihood in the next few weeks,” he said.
Unfortunately, consumers are going to have to grin and bear the high prices at the gas pump as a result of, essentially, cutting off Russia’s supply of oil from the world market, DeHaan warned.
Prices first shot up as demand for gasoline began growing as COVID-19 concerns started easing, then Russia invaded Ukraine, he explained.
“Chicagoans are back out on the street. I was seeing it yesterday. Americans are getting out and about and demand is going up. And, just like that, 10% of global supply has basically vaporized with the U.S. and western sanctions on Russia,” DeHaan said.
Related
