Jeanne Williams, 83, had just driven 100 miles (160 kilometers) from Richmond, Virginia, where she was visiting her elder sister.
“That is horrible,” she said, stunned by the prices visible on the Liberty gas station’s LED board.
“I’m not angry. I’m just bewildered, confused, unhappy,” she said. “Because we didn’t ask for the war.”
On Tuesday, the average US price of a gallon (3.78 liters) of regular gasoline crossed the psychological barrier of $4.00, having increased 35 percent since the US-Israeli strikes that launched the conflict, according to data from the AAA motor club.
The station where Williams stopped is situated along a busy road in the city of Falls Church, nestled between an Anglican church, an auto repair shop and a dentist’s office.
Prices there started at $3.79 per gallon – provided you pay in cash. Rates are higher if you use debit or credit cards. A little further down the road, the rate was as high as $4.25 per gallon.
Williams, a retired civil servant who is undergoing cancer treatment, considers her pension to be “fairly decent,” but as the US cost of living has risen, she has had to dip into her savings.
“Luckily, I have no children. I don’t have a spouse, so it’s just me and whatever I have I help my sister with.”
‘Ridiculous’
US inflation has reduced from a peak of 9.1 percent in the pandemic, but prices have remained stubbornly high and analysts warn the world’s largest economy has still not achieved price stability.
