On Wednesday, the national average hit yet another record, reaching $4.58 per gallon, up nearly 50 cents from a month ago, and $1.52 from this time last year, according to AAA.
Meanwhile, the average national retail price for a gallon of regular gasoline is projected to surpass $6 by the of summer. According to JPMorgan, prices could surge another 37% by August, hitting a $6.20 per gallon national average.
“With expectations of strong driving demand — traditionally, the U.S. summer driving season starts on Memorial Day, which lands this year on May 30, and lasts until Labor Day in early September — U.S. retail price could surge another 37% by August to a $6.20/gallon national average,” JP Morgan wrote in her May 17 research note.
Earlier this week, Los Angeles became the second metro, joining San Francisco, with the average cost for a gallon of gasoline surpassing $6.
And earlier in the month, the Biden administration canceled three pending oil and gas drilling leases in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico amid gas prices surging to record highs.
The Department of Interior announced the decision [May 11], saying there was not enough industry interest in the areas. Experts argue the Biden administration’s fight to cancel all oil and gas leasing has made it risky and unappealing for the oil and gas industry to begin new investments in the U.S. The Alaska lease had difficulty receiving interest at certain points in the past before Biden took office, Casey Harper at Just the News reported.
The New York Post reported:
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