“They’re going to go up.”
That’s the message from President Biden this week about gasoline prices after he announced a U.S. ban on purchases of crude oil from Russia.
He was right. Gasoline prices in Oklahoma shot up 8 cents after he put the ban into affect as the state’s average price for a gallon of regular gasoline hit $3.79 according to the American Automobile Association.
That’s 48 cents more than a week ago and compares to the $3.14 average a month ago and to the $2.61 average from a year earlier.
Oklahoma City gasoline prices rose 6 cents on Tuesday to a new average of $3.80 a gallon. Just a week earlier, the city’s average price was only $3.39 a gallon. A year ago, motorists paid an average $2.59 for a gallon of regular gasoline.
Drivers in Tulsa saw their prices climb 11 cents on Tuesday after the President announced the crude oil purchase ban. They are paying an average of $3.77 a gallon, 42 cents a gallon more than a week ago. Last year at this time, Tulsa’s average was $2.54.
Lawton’s average price jumped 8 cents on Tuesday to an average $3.72, 62 cents more than a week ago.
Harmon County in the Southwest has the state’s highest average at $4.05 a gallon while adjacent Greer County has an average of $4.04.
Tillman County along the Red River has the state’s lowest average at $3.58.
Biden said bluntly when asked about gas prices. “Can’t do much right now … Russia is responsible.”