After a short dip, gas prices are back on the rise in the United States.According to GasBuddy, the average gasoline price in America rose 2 1/2 cents last week to $3.09 per gallons on Monday.The national average is almost 5 cents more than a month ago, and 92 cents more than this time last.Patrick De Haan, a GasBuddy petroleum analyst, says Americans should expect higher prices at the pump as they head into July 4, a popular road holiday.The U.S. economy is rapidly recovering from the 15-month-long Coronavirus pandemic. This means that fuel demand is increasing and prices are at levels not seen since 2014. Hurricane season is always associated with higher oil prices, especially if the storm affects oil drilling or refining along the Gulf Coast.De Haan stated that motorists should be prepared to dig deeper in the second half-of-the summer.The Energy Information Administration forecast that gasoline will average $2.92 per gallon in the April-September driving season. This is an increase from the $2.07 per gallon last year. The EIA predicts that regular gasoline will cost $2.77 per gallon over the entire year and that households in the United States will spend $570 more fuel than they did last year.Higher gasoline prices are just one part of the inflationary mix that consumers have experienced as the economy recovers after the pandemic. Inflation has also increased the prices of commodities and materials such as lumber, diapers and meat, poultry, and meat.Many of these increases are expected to be temporary according to the Federal Reserve. Last week, Fed Chair Jerome Powell spoke before a House subcommittee and mentioned that inflation has been influenced by past oil price increases.Although some commodities prices have been trending in the opposite direction, oil has maintained its gains. The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell to $72.91 per barrel on Monday, but is still up 50% year-over-year.According to GasBuddy, $2.89 per gallon was the most common price that motorists in the U.S. would see, which is the same as last week.The lowest average gallon prices were found in the states closest to the large Gulf Coast refinery center. Louisiana was at $2.72 and Mississippi at $2.71, respectively. California was at $4.27, and Hawaii at 3.96.
