Price for gas hits highest-recorded average in Washington, AAA reports

On Sunday, drivers in the Evergreen State were dishing out more green than ever before, according to AAA.

The agency reported on Sunday that the average price for a gallon of gas in Washington reached $4.407, marking the highest recorded average on record.

The national average for a gallon of gasoline topped $4 for the first time in 14 years on Sunday, and prices could go even higher, officials said. Gas prices nationwide are rising at the fastest rate since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Ohna West, a mother of three, paid $5.37 per gallon at a gas station in West Seattle.

“It makes us have to make a choice. It’s either get dinner for the week or get gas,” West said. “At this point, you can’t do both. I know a lot of moms are out there having to choose. A lot of kids are now walking to school. And if gas continues rising, I’ll be on a bike.”

Gas prices have been on the rise in the past year, but Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused prices to skyrocket. While sanctions have not included bans on Russian oil, companies are worried enough to stay away.

“How do you know that the oil you are loading has not been tainted by ownership from someone who has been sanctioned? You know how you solve that problem? You don’t buy it,” Andy Lipow, president of consulting firm Lipow Oil Associates, said to CNN Business. “The sanctions have led to a de facto ban on Russian oil.”

It’s still unclear what’s ahead for drivers, according to travel experts.

“Anytime we have this type of geopolitical tension, the oil markets ... they don’t respond well to this type of chaos,” Doug Shupe, a spokesperson for AAA Southern California, told our CBS affiliate in Los Angeles. “The reality is we don’t know how high these prices are going to go or when we’re going to see relief at the pumps.”

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