The other side of the surging oil price story 🛢

Energy costs are rising, but we’re not living in the past ⚡️

Oil prices haven’t been this high since summer of 2008.

Oil prices have been surging amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. WTI crude — the benchmark for oil sold in the U.S. — went above $130 a barrel after the Biden administration said it was in active discussions with Europe about banning the import of Russian oil. On Tuesday, the U.S. announced such a ban at home.

Higher crude prices means higher prices for refined oil products, which include gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and heating oil.

As of March 8, the national average price of regular unleaded gasoline was $4.17 a gallon, up from $3.45 a month ago, according to data from AAA. It’s now above the previous all-time high of $4.11 a gallon, recorded on July 17, 2008.

This isn’t just about higher prices at the pump and more expensive plane tickets. Many businesses use a lot of energy to manufacture and ship goods, which means the prices for  those goods may go up.

There’s no shortage of news articles discussing all the possible implications of higher energy costs, including whether consumers will or won’t be able to afford them. So, I won’t attempt to summarize everything here.

But for those concerned about the economy and the markets, there’s some important context we can’t ignore.

The other side of the oil story