Gasoline prices are soaring well above the price of crude oil. Here’s why. | via HoustonPubMedia
Gasoline prices may have eased off their peak, but they're still far higher than they were the last time crude oil traded at or above the $100-a-barrel mark eight years ago. Several factors have combined to drive prices at the pump into record territory.
One major reason why is that the U.S. and Europe both lost a significant amount of refining capacity in recent years, particularly during the early phases of the COVID pandemic and the resulting recession. Recent years have also seen the closing of refineries in California, Louisiana, Alabama, and especially the Northeast.
Russia's war in Ukraine raised the problem to a whole new level, as much of the developed world slapped sanctions on Russian petroleum exports to put the screws to President Vladimir Putin's regime.