Why is gas so expensive? Many Americans have noticed a rise in their gas prices. Since the United States attack on Iran, gas prices have gone up, on average, 56 cents in a week. Many citizens are highly concerned on the rising prices and questioning if the prices will keep rising. The answer is Yes; they will.
Before the Iran war that began February 28th, Oil and gas prices have skyrocketed. Last Wednesday, the average national gas price in the U.S. rose from $2.92 to $3.84 in the past month. A gallon of diesel has shot up to over 5 dollars a gallon. What has caused the increase in gas prices? The United States exports a lot of the oil it produces by selling it to other countries. According to the EIA, the U.S. roughly exports 11 million barrels of oil a day, and imports 8 million barrels a day. The U.S has “good rep” in the oil industry because they produce “light crude oil”, which has the greatest global demand.
The Middle East dominates when it comes to exporting oil, accounting for 40% of global oil shipments. So, the U.S. conflict with Iran is causing a decrease in oil imports which is the direct effect of the rise in gas prices. The total domestic gasoline supply in the United States has decreased from 253.1 million barrels to 249.5 million barrels in just the past month.
The states that are being impacted the most are the higher population states or the states that are further from ships ports. The states with the most expensive gasoline are California, Hawaii and Washington, with all of those prices being over $4.70. The states with the least expensive gasoline prices are Kansas, Oklahoma, and North Dakota with prices under $3.10.
Lower and middle-income families and households are being hit harder by these increased prices because they are spending most of their earnings on their gas.
