Since Monday, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline has increased by a penny to $3.54, according to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). In Arizona, the price of gas could soon surpass the record set 2008 of $4 a gallon.
An increase in gas demand, alongside a reduction in total supply, is contributing to price increases, but increasing oil prices continue to play a leading role in pushing prices higher.
Pump prices will likely continue to rise as crude prices continue to climb.
As the Russian conflict escalates with more sanctions and retaliatory actions, the oil markets will likely respond by continuing to increase the price of crude oil to reflect more risk of disruption to tight global oil supplies, according to the EIA.
Since last Thursday, these 10 states have seen the largest increases in their averages: Ohio (+10 cents), North Carolina (+6 cents), South Carolina (+5 cents), California (+5 cents), Nevada (+4 cents), Kansas (+4 cents), Missouri (+4 cents), Hawaii (+4 cents), Alaska (+4 cents) and New Hampshire (+3 cents).