There is no shortage of gasoline and other oil products in the US at this time. We've heard for several years now that we are self-sufficient in petroleum. I remember that the idea of "self-sufficiency" was a BIG thing for many years, the idea being that we couldn't be devastated by international shocks to the oil markets. On top of that, Biden just said a few days ago that the oil companies have 6,000+ leases that they are just holding and not drilling. So, it seems that what is driving a sudden spike in oil prices is "just because they (the oil companies) can". I know that this is overly simplified, but unless Putin actually physically damages the US oil industry, it seems that this price explosion we are seeing is a result of greed and price gouging. Putin didn't cause the spike in oil prices, he just gave the oil companies an excuse.
A very good book that discusses the economics of this situation is: The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shock_Doctrine:_The_Rise_of_Disaster_Capitalism by Naomi Klein. Capitalist companies will not pass up any opportunity to raise prices, and disasters give them that excuse.
I just heard on our local tv station (KOCO, channel 5) that the percentage of oil that the US imports from Russia is 1%. (They cited a source for their info, I think its was Consumer Price Index, but I missed it.) Hardly seems like a reason for a 100% increase in gasoline prices, especially here in Oklahoma. I know that oil is a world commodity, not just local, but at this point, it appears that Russia is still selling its oil somewhere. Probably will sell it to Venezuela, who may in turn sell it to us. Seems to me that what we're seeing is pure price manipulation and speculation.
= new reply since forum marked as read