DALLAS (NewsNation Now) — As the summer travel season is ramping up, Americans are having a severe case of sticker shock at the pump.
Thursday’s national average for a tank of gas was $3.14, up 1 cent from Wednesday and 2 cents from a week ago.
According to AAA, drivers can expect gas prices to soar another 10-20 cents through August. It will be the most expensive gas Americans have paid for since 2014.
“It’s making me to the point where I don’t even want to go anywhere anymore,” said one driver.
Robust gasoline demand from the return of travel, more expensive crude oil and the colonial pipeline cyberattack are contributing to the volatile gas prices.
Patrick De Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said there is no shortage of gasoline.
“In fact, refineries are churning near all-time record amounts of gasoline,” Haan said. “The problem is getting truck drivers to deliver that gasoline as quickly as it’s needed.”
According to an interactive gas map on AAA’s website, Californians are paying $4.30 a gallon. People in Hawaii are also shelling out north of $4.
People in Mississippi and Louisiana are paying the least.
Andrew Gross, a AAA spokesperson, said prices will probably level off and possibly decline after Labor Day.
“Which is pretty typical because right now, it’s just summer travel, and there’s just that demand,” Gross said.
NewsNation spoke with Cory Johnson, a financial journalist and host of “Drill Down” podcast about the rising gas prices. See the interview in the player below.