Brace yourselves for more pain at the pump this summer.
Seven states are now at an average of $5 or higher per gallon, according to AAA data, with Illinois becoming the latest to join California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, and Alaska.
California’s gasoline prices continue to be significantly higher than the nation’s average cost of a gallon of unleaded, sitting at $6.19 on Wednesday.
The national average for a gallon of gas sits at $4.671 for regular unleaded gas as of June 1 while diesel gas prices are at $5.54 per gallon on average nationally, down from the record high of $5.58 per gallon set on on May 18.
Overall, retail gas prices are up 48 cents over the past month and are 32% higher than the day before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. Experts think they will continue rising over the coming months.
Even before the invasion, gas prices were on the rise as demand ticked up from pandemic related restrictions. On Tuesday, European leaders agreed to ban 90% of Russian oil imports by the end of the year as part of the ongoing effort to cut ties with Russia and inflict financial pain.
Global oil prices also continue to tick upwards: Brent crude, the international benchmark, the international benchmark, surpassed $120 per barrel, reaching a two-month high.
West Texas Intermediate (CL=F), the US benchmark, sat at $116 a barrel on Wednesday.
At the end of March, the Biden Administration announced the release of one million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve per day for the next six months to help serve as what the White House called a bridge as production ramps up.
However, there is little the administration can do to influence gas prices.
Dani Romero is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter: @daniromerotv
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