Prices at the Chevron gas station in Menlo Park, California, on Tuesday, May 24, 2022.
David Paul Morris Bloomberg | Getty Images
The average price per gallon of unleaded petrol rose above $ 5 nationally for the first time due to increased demand from the economy, which is reopening by the pandemic and depleted oil supplies stemming in part from the war in Ukraine.
Prices seem to continue to rise during the summer months, analysts said.
According to the AAA, the average national price reached $ 5,004 on Saturday. That’s more than about $ 3.07 a year ago and a record price that has not been adjusted for inflation. At the end of the week, prices were already averaging $ 5 or more in about 20 states, with the highest prices in the West Bank.
“I estimate that a typical household spends about $ 160 more on gas a month than a year ago,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. “It’s a big bite.”
Gasoline prices usually peak in mid-May, but this year they continue to rise and the average price is about 65 cents higher than a month ago. Due to short deliveries this year, analysts predict that prices may not reach mid-July, when the summer driving season is traditionally at its peak.
“I don’t think we’re far from the highest prices,” said Patrick DeHaan, head of oil analysis at GasBuddy. “I don’t think it will overshadow $ 5.50. I would say $ 5.25 is the highest, but again the market is volatile.
However, if there are serious outages at the refinery this summer or disturbances from hurricanes, gasoline prices could jump, he added.
Gasoline supplies are lower than normal, as the United States has lost about 1 million barrels a day of refining capacity since the pandemic. At the same time, sanctions against Russian energy have led to sharply higher oil prices and created limited supplies of both oil and fuel worldwide.
Analysts say that while consumers are in pain at the pump, the cost of refueling a car is not as much of a household expense as it was in the past. This is partly due to more efficient vehicles.
According to a CNBC analysis, drivers spent an average of 20 cents a mile on gasoline as of June this year, even with the sharp rise in prices. In 1980, the same mile would have cost 30 cents in today’s dollars.
– Nicholas Wells of CNBC contributed to this report
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