The nationwide price of gas on Tuesday soared to a tenth daily consecutive record high of $4.91 per gallon on average as AAA data suggests that 13 states have hit $5 per gallon or more.
AAA noted that as of Monday, the national average for gas is up 59 cents from about a month ago, and it’s $1.81 more than a year ago.
Analysts said, however, that there appears to be no end in sight to the price increase.
“After a blistering week of gas prices jumping in nearly every town, city, state, and area possible, more bad news is on the horizon. It now appears not if, but when, we’ll hit that psychologically critical $5 national average,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, in a statement this week.
He added: “Gasoline inventories continue to decline even with demand softening due to high prices, a culmination of less refining capacity than we had prior to COVID and strong consumption, a situation that doesn’t look to improve drastically anytime soon.”
Notably, a gas station in Mendocino, located in Northern California, is charging some $9.60 for a gallon of gas, although it appears to be an outlier. Another station in Los Angeles topped $8 in recent days, according to reports.
“In addition,” De Haan added, “diesel prices also stand at a record high, a second gut-punch to consumers which pushes prices of most goods higher.”
But despite the elevated cost, Americans “are still fueling up, despite these high prices,” Andrew Gross, an AAA spokesperson. “At some point, drivers may change their daily driving habits or lifestyle due to these high prices, but we are not there yet.”
Republicans have said Biden’s executive orders—including a flurry of rules that were issued in January 2021—have driven up the public and private costs of oil drilling in the United States, halting drilling on public lands, and canceling the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have brought crude oil from Alberta, Canada, to the interior U.S.
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