Moms filling up their minivans today are getting a serious shock from the stickers.
Contractors working on a construction site at any distance from the head office will incur significant transportation costs if they do not include updated gas and transportation costs in their bids.
Drivers and truckers delivering groceries to grocery stores, grain to ports, or timber to factories are paying big bucks for diesel to get what Americans want and need (and they’re not going to just eat up the gas price spike).
But the news is even worse: if you thought gas was already expensive, just wait. One expert with experience in the Middle East is warning Americans to brace for $6 a gallon.
David Rundell, a former U.S. diplomat in the oil-producing countries, told Fortune that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, combined with the deterioration of our relationship with Saudi Arabia, is doomed to ruin the wallets of American consumers.
Rundell, who spent three decades as a US diplomat in oil-producing countries like Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Tunisia, told the magazine that the US puts itself in the G8 when it comes to negotiating to force the House of Saud to get more oil.
“Russia and Saudi Arabia are the two largest oil exporters in the world. If we had good relations with Saudi Arabia, they would step in to help, as they have done many times in the past,” Rundell told Fortune.
The former diplomat, who is now a partner in the Middle East-focused consulting firm Arabia Analytica, added that “our relationship with the leaders of Saudi Arabia continues to deteriorate. So get ready for $6 a gallon.”
Rundell warned as Americans saw gas prices hit an all-time high of $4.17 on Tuesday, the publication reported. The price is 11 cents a gallon higher than the day before and 55 cents higher than a week ago.
His warning also came before President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday that the US would ban imports of Russian oil and gas.
During his announcement, Biden told the nation that gas prices “are going to rise further.”