Gas has risen above $4 (£3.22) a gallon in all 50 US sates for the first time, in yet another sign of rising costs for consumers.
Kansas, Oklahoma and Georgia were the final hold outs among US states to see prices rise above the $4 margin on Monday, the American Automobile Association (AAA) said.
Some states, including California, have already seen prices above the $6 (£4.83) mark, according to Bloomberg, with five other states above $5 (£4.03) a gallon.
The price increases come almost two months into Russia’s war on Ukraine, which has pushed up food and energy prices globally.
Americans have not been immune to the rise in costs or inflation, with US president Joe Biden recently freeing some of the country’s oil reserves in an attempt at lowering costs. That has not appeared to have an immediate impact on costs, however.
“The high cost of oil, the key ingredient in gasoline, is driving these high pump prices for consumers,” Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson, said in a statement on Monday seen by CNBC.
“Even the annual seasonal demand dip for gasoline during the lull between spring break and Memorial Day, which would normally help lower prices, is having no effect this year,” he added.
A lack of oil refinery capacity is also reportedly worsening the situation in the US, with facilities not yet able to process oil at pre-pandeic levels. This change in consumer demand has also pushed up prices.
Speaking in March, Mr Biden promised to address the rising prices of goods and energy, with a speech blaming Russian president Vladimir Putin’s “price hike that Americans and our allies are feeling at the pump.”
Russia is among the world’s biggest exporters of oil, while Ukraine is also a major exporter of agricultural goods – increasing the cost of groceries, among other items.
