Why US gas prices are at a record, and why they’ll stay high for a long time

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a major reason that US drivers are paying record prices for gasoline. But it’s not the only cause of the spike.

Numerous factors are pushing prices up, with regular gasoline hitting a record $4.87 a gallon Monday according to AAA’s survey — up 25 cents a gallon in just the last week.

Gas prices were already expected to breach the $4 a gallon mark for the first time since 2008, with or without shots fired in Eastern Europe or economic sanctions imposed on Russia. But now the national average is expected to hit $5 a gallon within the next two weeks, said Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis for the OPIS, which tracks gas prices for AAA.

“I think we reach $5 somewhere between this weekend and Juneteenth/Father’s Day weekend,” he said.

It was back in March that prices first broke the record of $4.11 a gallon, which had stood since 2008. That now seems like the good old days: The national average has been rising steadily for the past month, setting 27 records in the last 28 days.