Yellen Sees High Gasoline Prices Persisting

WASHINGTON—Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said elevated gasoline prices—near $5 a gallon—are likely to persist, but she doesn’t see a slowing U.S. economy slipping into recession.

Disruptions in global oil markets caused by Russia’s war against Ukraine and the subsequent sanctions imposed on Russia are likely to keep oil prices elevated, she said Thursday. Oil prices typically drive gasoline costs. She said President Biden’s decision to release oil from the strategic petroleum reserve this year was the administration’s main tool to put downward pressure on prices.