- US average gas price hit $3.38 per gallon on Monday, up 57% from last year
- The pump price has gone up every day in the past 27 days, according to AAA
- Global production is below pre-pandemic levels even as demand soars
- White House says there is little Biden can do to bring relief for drivers
Gas prices continue to rise, and are now at their highest level in seven years, according to the AAA Gas Price Index.
The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline rose six cents over the past week to hit $3.38 on Monday, up $1.22 from a year ago, or an increase of 57 percent.
With an average tank size of 18.5 gallons, it now costs drivers an extra $22 every time they fill up – and even more in states where gas prices are higher than the national average.
‘With the U.S. economy slowly recovering from the depths of the pandemic, demand for gas is robust, but the supply is tight,’ said AAA spokesperson Andrew Gross in a statement. ‘We haven’t seen prices this high since September of 2014.’
Global oil production is still below pre-pandemic levels, and soaring demand has placed a crunch on supplies, raising prices for drivers.
US crude oil production has still not recovered to pre-pandemic levels, and OPEC producers are withholding production to keep oil prices high.
According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), total domestic gasoline stocks decreased by 5.4 million barrels to 217.7 million barrels last week.
However, gasoline demand increased from 9.19 million barrels per day to 9.63 million.
Since the cost of oil accounts for more than half of the pump price, consumers will be paying more as long as crude prices remain high, according to AAA.
Because 70 percent of all retail goods in the US are shipped by truck, rising gas prices have the potential to spur broader price increases as well.
The Biden administration has faced harsh criticism over rising gas prices, but has ‘no immediate plans’ to tap into emergency reserves or limit energy exports outside the United States, the Energy Department told CNBC this week.
Those two moves are among the limited options the administration has to make a quick impact on prices at the pump.
‘There are limitations to what any president can do, as it relates to gas prices,’ White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Friday.
Last week, one California town saw gas prices approach an eye-watering $8 per gallon.
Residents of Gorda, a small community situated on the central coast, on Thursday saw the price of a gallon of gas hit an alarming $7.59 – $4 more than the national average.
Premium gasoline had reached an equally astounding $8.50 per gallon.
The Golden State tops the list of the most expensive fuel in the country: The national average is $3.36 compared with California’s $4.53 per gallon.
