U.S. Gas Prices Are Skyrocketing—How Much Worse Will It Get?

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• Geopolitical tensions, inflation, and the COVID-19 pandemic have converged to push the average U.S. price for a gallon of gasoline above $4 for the first time since 2008, as calculated by the price-monitoring app GasBuddy.

• In some cities, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, average gas prices have hit $5 for regular fuel—the photo above was taken in Santa Ana, California, on March 6—and there are even some stations selling premium for over $7 a gallon. On the AAA Gas Prices website, you can look at the averages in the state where you live.

• Unless something drastic changes soon, GasBuddy is predicting a national average price of $4.25 by Memorial Day. The current record is $4.10.

UPDATE 3/8/2022: AAA said the average U.S. price for a gallon of gasoline has hit $4.173, which is the most expensive ever. That's up 10 cents per gallon since yesterday and up 63 cents since February 24 (the date on which Russia began its invasion of Ukraine).

The news everybody already seems to know is that gas prices are headed up. This weekend, the national average price for a gallon of gasoline went above $4 a gallon in the U.S for only the second time ever. The last time this happened was in 2008.

In some parts of the country, $4 would be a substantial discount. Los Angeles County, for example, saw an average of $5 a gallon this week, the first time that milestone was ever reached. At some stations in Los Angeles, premium fuel was selling for $7.25 a gallon this week. Gas in the Philadelphia area hit $4.05 a gallon late last week, an increase of 43 cents in the past month. Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, said on Twitter that San Francisco also hit $5 a gallon and told USA Today that more cities are likely to hit that height in the coming weeks.