- The national average gas price hit $4.87 a gallon on Monday, according to AAA.
- A week ago, the average was $4.62 a gallon. A month ago, the national average was $4.28 a gallon.
- Gas prices are rising due to increased travel demands as summer approaches.
As summer travel approaches, gas prices are rising.
On Monday, AAA reported the current national average gas price is $4.87 a gallon, up 25 cents from a week ago. A month ago, gas was 59 cent less on average at $4.28 a gallon.
Nine states and Washington, DC have an average gas price of $5 a gallon or higher. Georgia has the lowest gas price average, and is the only state below $4.30 a gallon.
Gas prices are expected to continue to rise, with oil analyst Andy Lipow telling CNN national gas prices can reach an average of $5.05 per gallon in the next 10 days.
In a note from Natasha Kaneva, head of commodities research at JPMorgan, the national average gas price could reach $6.20 a gallon by August, due to demands from drivers traveling this summer.
Gas prices are also being influenced by the increased price of oil, as demand for it outpaces supply.
During the height of the pandemic, when demand for fuel was down, some companies permanently closed refineries that were not as profitable. Now, as demand for fuel increases again, oil refineries in the US are at capacity, and not making enough fuel. But even if those refineries were still open, the price of fuel would still be high because of the loss of Russian fuel, Rob Smith, director of global fuel retail at S&P Global, told the Houston Chronicle.
Last week, OPEC said it would increase oil production as the EU continues to impose sanctions on Russian oil imports. The EU reached an agreement on a Russian oil ban last week that would cut around 90% of Russian oil imports to the EU by the end of the year. The US and the UK have already banned Russian oil imports.
And as China moves to ease COVID restrictions after two months of lockdown, the reopening of public transportation will likely drive more demand for oil, and further drive up its price, which neared $120 a barrel on Monday.
In a phone interview with CNN, Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, said the US would go into a recession if oil prices hit $150 a barrel.
