The national average gas price in the U.S. exceeded $4 per gallon Saturday.
The current average is $4.009 for regular unleaded gas, an increase from $2.76 a year ago, according to AAA. Diesel and premium have both exceeded $4.50 per gallon. A year ago, they hovered around $2.00 – $3.00 per gallon, AAA calculated.
Images posted to social media show that in places like Beverly Hills, an affluent neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, gas prices are upwards of $6.10 and $7.20 per gallon at 76 stations. Another photo showed a Chevron station in Downtown Los Angeles where prices are all just under $7 per gallon, the lowest of which was $6.95.
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The highest recorded average price for regular unleaded gas was $4.114 in July 2008 and $4.845 for diesel in the same month, AAA continued.
Gas prices jumped $0.11 cents Friday and another $0.08 cents Saturday, the highest hike in prices since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, CNN Business reported. (RELATED: Psaki Says Higher Gas Prices Show Need For Green Transition)
The average American household uses roughly 90 gallons of gas per month, so with a $1.17 increase since 2021’s gas price of $2.75, Americans are spending an extra $105.50 a month, or $1,300 a year, CNN continued. Some outlets like CBS have suggested that the recent hikes are due to a limit on Russian oil imports.