- We’ve enjoyed lower gasoline and oil prices recently, but that may not last.
- Energy prices could rise this winter, making heating your home or filling your car costlier.
- Energy costs will depend on how things shape up with Europe’s energy crisis, among other things.
One of the few things to cheer about in Tuesday’s consumer inflation report was the decline in gasoline and oil prices, but it’s likely too early to claim victory yet.
Many people, including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, warn of potential price spikes that could send shivers through Americans this winter when they see their heating bills or pump gasoline.
“This winter, the European Union will cease, for the most part, buying Russian oil and in addition, they will ban the provision of services that enable Russia to ship oil by tanker,” Yellen said in a CNN interview on Sunday. “It is possible that could cause a spike in oil prices.”
But there are other factors, too, that could make this winter more expensive. President Joe Biden’s one-million-barrels-a-day oil release from the country’s emergency reserves is set to end in October, Europe’s energy crisis is expected to hit hardest during the cold winter months, and the largest oil-producing countries could cut production, other analysts noted.
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