Gas prices in the United States are above $5 per gallon for the first time in a row, about a week after reaching a new high of $4.67 per gallon just in time for the summer travel season.
According to GasBuddy, the national average began the week at $4.87 per gallon before jumped to $5.05 per gallon for regular unleaded gasoline.
The Detroit Free Press says it''ll be the most expensive summer we''ve ever seen. Patrick De Haan of GasBuddy has told the Daily Mail.
Prices across the country are up about $1.90 per gallon, according to last year''s average.
Andy Lipow, a CNN analyst, predicts the national average to hit $5.05 per gallon in the next ten days.
There are now ten states with a median gas price of $5 per gallon or higher.
California has the highest standard in the country at $6.34, followed by Nevada at $5.49, Hawaii at $5.47, Oregon at $5.41, and Washington at $5.40 a gallon.
There are five other states with averages above $5 per gallon, while nine are on the verge of doing so.
We''''ve Had Worse Gas Prices
While the dollar amount of gas is the highest it has ever been, the US is far away from experiencing the worst prices in history when it comes to inflation.
According to a recent disclosure, gas prices in July 2008 cost what they refer to as $5.40 per gallon per gallon in today dollars.
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Record gas prices in 2008 were a precursor to the financial crisis in 2008 that sparked the US economy into the worst recession since the Great Depression.
The US might be on the brink of inflation as the post-covid economy hasn''t experienced the recovery it''s anticipated.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, inflation in the United States is at a 40-year high, leading gas prices to increase by 48% year over year, including a 18% increase between February and April.
Americans are paying more for everything else, including rents, which increased 5.1 percent year over year in March, according to Rent.com, and groceries, which increased by ten percent year over year in March.
The price of new automobiles has risen by 6.6 percent, with home furnishings increasing by over 11%.
Is Relief on the Way?
Despite rising costs, the Energy Information Administration of the United States claims that Americans spend only a 1% of their disposable income on gas as compared to in 2015.
"Combined, the increase in disposable personal incomes for the average American since 2008 has more than offset changes in gasoline prices. In the short run, our projections show gasoline prices will increase in 2022, bringing the ratio of gasoline expenditure to disposable personal income to its highest level since 2014.," the EIA said.
According to the government agency, disposable personal income was 76 percent higher than expected in 2021.
The agency claims that consumers will have to pay about $450 more for gas this year than they did in 2021.
In order to ensure supply meets demand during the summer travel season, the Consumer Energy Alliance has recently called for intensifying oil and gas production in the United States.
