PAIN: GAS PRICES HIT ALL TIME HIGH FOURTH DAY IN A ROW

The price of gas just keeps going up and up, and in the United States, it’s hit an all-time high for the fourth day in a row, while diesel prices have also been soaring, hitting new records for 11 days straight. According to AAA, the average price for a gallon of regular gas across the country is now $4.432, while diesel is at an average price of $5.56 per gallon.

The highest-priced gas is in California where you’ll expect to pay $5.87 for a gallon of regular, $6.06 for mid-grade $6.20 for premium, and $6.52 for diesel. Hawaii is next on the list with a gallon of gas costing $5.31, $5.51, and $5.75, for regular, mid-grade, and premium respectively, with diesel at $5.87.

On the other end of the scale is Georgia, which currently has the cheapest gas in the country at $3.95 for a gallon of regular $4.31 for a gallon of mid-grade, and $4.66 for premium. Diesel is $5.20 a gallon.

The jump from one record high to the next seems to be diminishing as the days pass, however. Prices reported on May 13 were only 1 cent more on average than May 12, which was 2 cents more on average than the day before. The marginally smaller price increase could signal the peak of gas prices, and send them back on their way to a downward slope.

The high prices can be blamed in no small part on the rising cost of inflation, which hit a 40-year high in December.

The COVID-19 pandemic response from the US government cost an estimated $5 trillion across both the Trump and Biden administrations, which helped demand return. While the policy was necessary for an even recovery according to NBC News, the unfortunate result is a struggle for suppliers struggling to catch up.

In addition, the US recently completely banned oil and gas imports from Russia. The Biden administration has blamed the ongoing conflict in Ukraine for the dip in oil supply, causing the largest ever release of US oil reserves.

The price of a gallon of gasoline is expected to remain above an average of $4 for the rest of the year.