Local gas prices at the pump remain above $3

Gas prices in Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Scott City remain above $3 per gallon of unleaded, as the Russia-Ukraine crisis deepens.

In Cape Girardeau, weekend prices ranged from $3.15 to $3.29 per gallon, according to data compiled by price-tracking firm Gas Buddy. In Jackson, prices ranged from $3.02 to $3.19, while in Scott City, gas sold for $3.19.

Patrick De Haan, Gas Buddy's head of petroleum analysis, said sanctions imposed by the U.S. and other Western nations against Russia will tighten oil supplies, which hikes crude prices and makes gasoline production more costly.

As the third-largest producer of petroleum and other liquids (behind the U.S. and Saudi Arabia), Russia provides about 10% of the world's oil.

Crude oil prices have already topped $100 a barrel this week, well above the $50- to $60-a-gallon levels seen a year ago.

De Haan said Thursday gas stations likely will boost prices over the next couple of weeks with most U.S. states seeing increases of 5 to 15 cents per gallon.

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve decreased by 2.4 million barrels last week, to leave the SPR 8.7% lower than a year ago.

Crude oil inventories went up 4.5 million barrels last week, while domestic crude production was unchanged at 11.6 million barrels per day

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