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U.S. gas prices have soared to an all-time high amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to auto club AAA.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden announced Tuesday the U.S. is banning Russian oil imports, a move applauded by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, but one that will push gas prices even higher.

According to AAA, the average price Tuesday for a regular gallon of gas nationwide was $4.17, eclipsing the $4.11 record set in July 2008. The average was up 10 cents since Monday, 55 cents from a week ago and 71 cents from a month ago.

In California, where prices are the highest, the average hit $5.44.

The increase in gas demand and a reduction in total supply is contributing to rising prices at the pump, but skyrocketing oil prices are playing an increasingly large role.

The price of benchmark U.S. crude jumped 8% Tuesday to more than $129 per barrel.

Americans can expect the current trend at the pump to continue as long as crude prices climb, AAA said.

Genaro Nauth told Spectrum News NY1 he couldn’t afford to fill up his tank in New York’s Manhattan borough, where a gallon cost $5.60. 

“I only put one gallon because I have to go to Queens,” Nauth said. “It’s coming out of my pocket. It’s coming out of my finances to help my grandmother. It’s a bit tough.”

Rob Escalere, who lives in New Jersey and works in New York, said he’s taking the train more now “because of the gas price.”

In Huntington Beach, California, Julian Mesa earns $15 an hour cleaning offices. On Monday, he paid $92 to fill his pickup at $5.79 a gallon.

“It’s very expensive, high for people who are earning the minimum,” Mesa said.

Relenting to bipartisan pressure, Biden said Tuesday that the U.S. is banning Russian oil imports, the latest in a long list of crippling economic sanctions against the Kremlin in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

Biden had resisted blocking Russian oil imports, saying he wanted to spare Americans the burden of higher gas prices. 

The president said Tuesday he’s “going to do everything I can to minimize Putin’s price hike here at home.” He did not elaborate, but he cited last week’s announcement that the U.S. and 30 other countries were releasing 60 million barrels of crude oil from strategic reserves — half of that coming from the U.S. 

Gas prices already were surging before the war, which Republicans had sought to blame Biden for. But drilling for oil and gas in the U.S. has actually increased since Biden took office, mainly due to increasing demand for fuel as the economy recovers from pandemic restrictions.

Natural gas production grew 2% in 2021, Biden’s first year in office, compared to the previous year, when Republican Donald Trump was in office. Exports of liquefied natural gas grew 42% in the first six months of 2021, compared to the same timeframe the year before, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. In late January of this year, oil production was up slightly compared to the same time a year ago.

The reasons vary. Companies cut back on drilling for oil and gas at the start of the pandemic, and many have not returned to their pre-pandemic drilling levels despite higher demand. That’s partly because investors have been pressuring public companies to focus more on transitioning to renewable or cleaner energy sources. Companies that want to increase drilling for oil and gas are having a hard time finding rigs, trucks and workers.

Biden sought to defend himself against criticism Thursday. 

“It’s simply not true that my administration or policies are holding back domestic energy production,” he said. 

Biden said oil companies currently have 9,000 permits to drill on federal land that they are not utilizing. 

“They could be drilling right now, yesterday, last week, last year,” he said. “They have 9,000 (leases) to drill onshore that are already approved. So let me be clear: They are not using them for production now. That’s their decision.”

Energy prices are contributing to the worst inflation that Americans have seen in 40 years, far outpacing higher wages. Consumer prices jumped 7.5% in January, compared with a year earlier, and analysts predict a 7.9% increase when the government reports February figures later this week.

Energy analysts warn that crude oil prices could go as high to $160 or even $200 a barrel if oil sanctions are imposed by the West or if buyers continue shunning Russian crude.

Oil prices that high could send an average gallon of U.S. gasoline past $5 a gallon.

The United States is the world’s largest oil producer — ahead of Saudi Arabia and Russia — but it is also the biggest oil consumer, and it can’t meet that staggering demand with domestic crude alone.