TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Gas prices could spike significantly by the end of this week.
"It's crazy!"
Joy Golden lives in Tallahassee. She says surging gas prices are taking a toll on her day-to-day life.
"I work right here and go to school at TCC and even then just the few little things that I do, it's ridiculous."
Those gas prices are expected to climb even more.
"We're banning all imports of Russian oil, gas, and energy."
Tuesday, the Biden Administration targeted the main artery of Russia's economy: energy exports.
Tom Smythe is a finance professor at Florida Gulf Coast University. He says as a result of this, gas prices could spike significantly by the end of this week. When it stops?
"At what point it sort of plateaus I don't think we know quite yet."
Smythe says it could affect the cost of more than just fuel for your car. He fears this could lead to stagflation in the coming months. Meaning inflation and prices climb, while economic growth falls.
So what about the price of everyday items right now?
"I think a lot of them are going to wait to see how long this might last before they consider raising prices as a result of just the gasoline expense."
Smythe also says releasing strategic oil reserves is not the solution to the problem. He believes the Biden Administration should re-think their clean energy policies and increase oil production in the U.S. That's if they can't get more oil from the Middle East and South America, first.
"If this situation continues for six months or a year it will cripple the world economy."
Brian Deese is the National Economic Council Director. He says they're increasing U.S. oil production by 700,000 barrels a day.
"Over the long term what we need to do is actually reduce our dependence on oil and gas altogether so that we and our allies in Europe are not as susceptible to global commodity price moves like we're seeing now."
In the meantime, Golden says she'll have some tough choices to make about how to spend her money.
"It's trying to pick and choose your battles."
As the battle in Ukraine affects costs around the world.
As a result of the Russian fuel ban, Smythe says gas prices could spike anywhere from 15 to 20 cents a gallon in Florida within the next 2 days.
