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By Shariq Khan and Laura Sanicola
April 1 (Reuters) – Gasoline costs for U. S. motorists could rise as much as 15 cents a gallon as global fuel materials tighten after Ukraine’s recent attacks on Russian refineries, Patrick De Haan, an oil analyst at GasBuddy. com, said on Monday.
WHY IT MATTERS
Rising gas costs may simply hamper the U. S. government’s fight against inflation. Higher costs at the pump have already contributed to a sharp increase in customer and manufacturer costs in February.
CONTEXT
Car fuel costs tend to rise seasonally at this time of year as travelers hit the roads and the U. S. switches to more expensive summer gas. above GasBuddy’s previous forecast in April, which was between $3. 36 and $3. 67 per gallon, De Haan said.
Any additional source shocks, such as unplanned outages at major U. S. refineries, could simply push domestic gas costs above $4 a gallon for the first time since 2022, De Haan said.
IN NUMBERS
According to Reuters calculations, about 14% of Russia’s refining capacity has been shut down due to drone strikes, and the country banned gas exports for six months as it expanded imports from neighboring Belarus in March to deal with a potential fuel shortage.
Russian exports of commodities such as gas and diesel are expected to fall 30% to 1. 2 million barrels per day in April, according to a study of data by Kpler.
Total U. S. gas reserves stood at 232. 1 million barrels as of March 22, down 1% from this time of year in five years.
Gasoline averaged $3. 536 per gallon at U. S. pumps. U. S. motorists were up 6% from a month ago and up 1% from the same period last year, according to data from the motoring organization AAA. (Reporting via Shariq Khan in New York and Laura Sanicola in Washington, D. C. ; editing via Liz Hampton and David Gregorio)