The average price Americans pay for gasoline is nearing $5 per gallon, a huge burden on the pockets of customers who are paying higher prices for other essentials as well.
As per a report, AAA said the nationwide average for regular on Thursday was $4.97 per gallon. This is an increase of a quarter just in the last week and $1.90 higher than the price drivers had to pay last year.
GasBuddy, a service that assists drivers in finding deals on gas, announced that the average surpassed $5 for the first time.
Pump prices have been rising for months, soaring above $4 in early March. They track the price of crude oil, which had been growing even before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, causing oil prices to rise even more.
The worries of a shortage of supplies are exacerbated by demand, which typically picks up around Memorial Day at the end of May – the unofficial start of summer and vacation trips in the U.S.
According to AAA, California has the highest average price, at $6.40 a gallon. Several other Western states and Illinois are higher than $5.50.
The lowest average is in Georgia, at $4.41.
While the $5 mark is new, Americans paid more for gasoline in July 2008 when inflation was a factor. The high price of $4.11 for one gallon at the time is equal to about $5.40 for a gallon now.
Prices for pumps are rising as people try to cope with the rising cost of inflation, food, cars, housing, airline tickets, and other wants and needs. U.S. consumer prices in April were 8.3% higher than a year ago.
This story originally appeared on Global News.
