ATLANTA — On Tuesday, President Joe Biden announced a ban on Russian oil imports, acknowledging to the American people that the move against Vladimir Putin is "not without cost here at home."
Just how high could that cost go, though?
In the near-term, GasBuddy expert Patrick De Haan told 11Alive's Christie Diez after Biden's announcement that he still doesn't expect further increases in gas prices to be as "fast and furious" as we've already seen.
President Biden said during his address that prices have gone up 75 cents a gallon since Putin began his military buildup in February.
De Haan said he expects a slowdown in the increase from that rapid pace, even with the latest Russia move.
"I don't think at this point that the increases will outpace what we've seen over the last week, meaning that we will continue to see increases, but it's not going to be quite as fast and furious as what we saw over the last week," De Haan said.
That's the good news. Based on current conditions and what we'll see going forward with the new ban on Russian oil imports, De Haan said he could see the national average going to about $4.50 a gallon in the weeks ahead.
The bad news is that there's still potential for national averages to reach eye-popping numbers.
Will gas go to a $5 a gallon national average?
This is the benchmark that De Haan is watching.
According to the GasBuddy expert, the real critical inflection point will be if Europe follows up with additional measures against Russia and cuts out some of their supply.
Europe depends far more on Russian oil than the United States does, and cutting out a significant amount of their intake on Russian oil would require them to look elsewhere for supply, increasing cost pressures around the world - including in America.
"Depending if the EU sanctions Russian energy as well, I think that will take us to $5 a gallon," De Haan said. "So watch if that happens.