By Stuart Graeber
As of March 30th, 2022, oil prices in New York reached a new all time high at $4.17 per gallon on average in March and it seems like each week we are seeing the prices continue to rise. To put this into perspective, last March oil cost $2.89 per gallon, a huge difference from today. Now why is this happening?
Oil prices dropped tremendously during the spring of 2020 due to the COVID-19 breakout in America, causing everyone to shelter in. However as we move on from COVID today in 2022, the demand for oil has gone up and the supply has not met the demand. This is because oil is a non-renewable energy source. This means that there is a finite (limited) amount of oil. As fossil fuels begin to become scarcer and scarcer, the prices of said fossil fuels will rise. The more rare something is, the more expensive it becomes.
Recently however, oil has skyrocketed in price. Another reason is because of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The conflict between these two countries has led to international outrage and the placing of many sanctions on Russia’s economy. The problem with that is Russia’s economy is fundamentally based around their oil exports. Russia is the number one oil exporter in the world and so placing sanctions on their exports was guaranteed to take a toll on oil prices across the world.
Dylan Harrison, a senior at Irvington High School says that he does notice the change in gas prices at gas stations. Despite this however, he also stated that the rise in price “isn’t going to deter him from driving, just maybe a little more conscious about it”.
Oil prices were always going to rise as time went on. It was inevitable due to the limited quantity of fossil fuel we have on Earth. In combination with this along with increased demand, as well as Russia-Ukraine conflict, the rising of these oil prices has been accelerated. Oil prices will continue to rise with this terrible conflict, and government officials across the world seek to find a solution.
