Keystone Today

The gas prices reached a record high in March, and it has only gotten worse with many experts expecting the price to continue to climb as records are set daily.

According to the most recent report by AAA on May 25, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline was $4.59 with Pennsylvania even higher at $4.77. For Pennsylvania, the price has increased 56 cents in a month. For an annual comparison, last year the average price across the state was $3.162 at this time. A report on May 23 by AAA said that the national gas average has either remained flat or increased each day since April 24. It has set a new record each day since May 10. Every state has an average above $4 per gallon, which is a first in the U.S.

“Gasoline is $1.05 more than it was on February 24, when Russia invaded Ukraine,” AAA spokesperson Andrew Gross said in the May 23 report. “That sent shock waves through the oil market that have kept oil costs elevated. Domestically, meanwhile, seasonal gas demand is rising as more drivers hit the road, despite the pain they face paying at the pump.”

The average price of gas nationally has increased 11.7% from a month ago when the average was $4.12 per gallon. 

On March 31, President Joe Biden announced the release of up to 180 million crude oil barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) over the next six months. This was an effort to curb rising gas prices. Biden blamed the high prices on “Putin’s war” through what was a televised press conference. He said there would be a slight delay in declining gas prices by days and weeks, but the prices would drop to an unknown range. 

“It could come down fairly significantly,” Biden said. “It could come down to a better part of anything from 10 cents to 35 cents a gallon. It’s unknown at this point.”

According to AAA, on March 31 when Biden released the oil barrels from the SPR, the price of gas was $4.22 per gallon, which is 37 cents cheaper than the most recent reported average.

CNN reported on May 5 that Biden announced plans to replenish the SPR supply. This would begin with buying 60 million barrels of crude oil. This will cover one-third of the supply from the release and is expected to take years, according to the Energy Department. Biden has also yet to announce plans of increasing oil production in the United States.

According to Energy Information Administration data released by AAA, the total domestic gasoline stocks went down by 4.8 million bbl to 220.2 million bbl last week. Gasoline demand has increased from 8.7 million b/d to 9 million b/d. This shows simple supply and demand, with a shorter supply and increased demand leading prices to increase. The crude oil prices combined with the supply and demand aspect are expected to keep gas prices high.