California Gas Price Eclipses $5 Per Gallon As National Average Spikes 11 Cents Overnight

National gas prices rose an average of 11 cents in one day, the most in one day since Hurricane Katrina impacted oil costs in 2005, AAA reported Friday morning. The surge in prices from Thursday to Friday makes the national cost of a gallon of gas on average $3.837.

Gas prices in California broke record highs in the state averaging $5.07 per gallon, while cities like Syracuse, New York, are experiencing the highest prices in 10 years, and Michigan is seeing the price rise 39 cents in just one week.

“A report by Triple-A ranked the states with the highest gas prices currently. As usual, California was at the top of that list, with the highest reported cost at $5.07 per gallon,” ABC 30 reported.

And in Syracuse, the average cost of gas “increased to $4.026 per gallon of regular fuel Friday morning, according to AAA,” Syracuse.com reported.  That figure is up “20 cents from two days ago, when it was $3.808” and “it’s also up 30 cents from last week when prices averaged $3.720.”

As noted by the media outlet, the rising costs are due in part to the war in Ukraine. If the U.S. were to ban Russian imports of oil, gas prices would go up even further, Syracuse.com reported:

The sharp increase is largely due to Russia’s war with Ukraine; Russia is one of the world’s top oil producers. Oil prices increased this week to more than $100 a barrel. CBS reports the price of Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, neared $113 a barrel, its highest level since 2014, on Wednesday.

…

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday she supports banning Russian oil imports to the U.S., which could help President Joe Biden and global allies in isolating Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime. However, a ban could also cause a bigger increase in prices at the pump, fueling Republicans’ calls to expand oil or gas drilling in the U.S.

In the midwest, costs rose nearly 40 cents over the last week in Michigan. The Congressional Leadership Fund issued a statement blaming these rising costs on Democratic policy, which has hampered American oil production and forced the nation to rely on countries like Russia for energy.

“Gas prices are soaring with no signs of slowing down thanks to Democrats’ failed policies,” CLF Press Secretary Cally Perkins said in an email.

Perkins put the blame on Democrats like Michigan Congressman Dan Kildee.

“Every time Michiganders head to the gas pump they’re reminded that Kildee and Democrats did everything they could to restrict American energy, and now working families are paying the price,” she added.

Those policies include the Biden administration’s cancellation of the Keystone XL Pipeline as well putting a moratorium on new oil and gas drilling which has stifled American energy, the CLF pointed out.

On Friday morning, 25 GOP governors issued a letter demanding that the president alleviate pain at the pump by making America energy independent through the re-opening of federal lands for oil supply. That letter was signed by the following Republican  governors, according to a Wyoming local media out:

“As governors, we call on President Biden to reverse his policies and restore America’s energy independence for our citizens as well as our allies abroad,” the letter demanded. “By removing his bans on new oil and gas development on federal lands, building the Keystone XL pipeline, and reinstating regulatory reforms to streamline energy permitting, we can protect our national energy security and sell to our friends rather than buy from our enemies—specifically Russia. Family budgets have already been stretched thin following record inflation.”

“People in our states cannot afford another spike at the gas pump, and our allies cannot afford to be held hostage by Putin’s tyranny and aggression,” the group noted.