Russia-Ukraine War: U.S. gas prices rising
NEW YORK - The impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine will be felt far from the front lines. The United States could be hit with the economic fallout, particularly with rising gas prices and energy costs.
The sanctions that the U.S., European Union, and other countries imposed on Russia are starting to wreak havoc on global trade, with potentially devastating consequences for energy and grain importers while also generating ripple effects across a world still struggling with pandemic-induced supply chain disruptions.
Russia is a major energy producer, and Europe relies heavily on Russia for oil and natural gas. As a result, Europe will bear more of the brunt of the sanctions against Russia in the form of an economic slowdown.
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, hundreds of tankers and bulk carriers have been diverted away from the Black Sea, while dozens more have been stranded at ports and at sea unable to unload their valuable cargo.
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In the U.S., the biggest impact will be felt at the gas pump, where higher prices are expected to add to inflation already running at the fastest rate in four decades. Russia was the third-largest source of oil products sold in the U.S. last year — behind only Mexico and Canada — and responsible for 8% of all imports. Russia is also the United States' second-largest supplier of platinum, a metal used to build exhausts for automobiles.
But overall, Russia was only the 20th-largest supplier of goods for the United States, according to the U.S. trade data.
The rates charged to charter giant oil tankers worldwide have jumped as much as 400% as oil traders scramble to secure capacity that became suddenly scarce.
With The Associated Press.