How High Gas Prices Will Really Go
With gas prices at exorbitant levels, it's no picnic to fill up at the pump right now. Find out how high gas prices will really go.
This article is more than 2 years old
There is no sugar coating it. Gas prices are unfathomably, painfully high. They have been breaking record after record for weeks on end as the national average climbs closer and closer to that $5 mark. According to AAA, the average price per gallon nationwide is currently $4.99, hence it may just be a matter of minutes before that $5 threshold is crossed. This concerning upward trend serves to beg a very important question: Just how high will gas prices go?
That’s a tough question to answer definitively because there are a slew of moving parts at play that all factor in together to ultimately affect what someone will have to pay at the pump. That being said, CNN reported that folks can definitely expect to be paying at least $6 per gallon at any point between now and labor day. Even in less extreme economic situations gas prices across the country always go up in the summertime. This is because the summer is when more people take time to travel and go places with their families. Thus, that natural increase in demand is what’s causing the already exorbitant gas prices to just keep climbing.
Moreover, analysts are concerned that individuals are seemingly almost unfazed by the immense hike in gas prices. For the most part, people have not yet scaled back how much they are driving or the number of trips they are choosing to take by car. This could logically be attributed to people virtually being stuck in one place for the past two years, thus they are much more willing to pay any cost to go somewhere out of sheer restlessness and desperation. This extra factor could serve to keep gas prices climbing even higher for an even longer period of time. If that’s the case, then paying $6 per gallon at the pump could eventually look like a walk in the park.
So far there are 20 states that have already surpassed the $5 threshold. And eight more are not far behind. Florida, Delaware, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maryland, Michigan, West Virginia, Colorado, and Montana are all rapidly approaching that $5 mark. When (not if) that happens more than 50% of the nation will be paying gas prices equal to or, in many cases, greater than $5.
While the summertime is serving to help accelerate how fast gas prices are climbing, a large part of what’s really keeping them elevated is the senseless geopolitical conflict that is currently erupting overseas. This is because Russia has been a major supplier of fuel to a good portion of Europe. Because of the war, countries normally reliant on Russia for gas have to look elsewhere. This has put a strain on the supplies of other producers. Hence, while the United States relies very little on Russia for fuel, because extenuating circumstances are driving supply lower across the board gas prices here have been adversely affected, too. All in all, a bad station just keeps getting worse and there really is no end in sight. Perhaps it’s time for some folks to think about getting an electric car?
