The national average price for a gallon of gas hit a new record of $4.60 on Thursday, according to the AAA.
In late April, a gallon of fuel cost $4.13 while last year at this time the price stood at $3.04. Thursday’s price hike is a whopping 47 cent increase from just a month ago.
Gas prices vary state to state, according to the automobile group. The average price of a gallon of gas in California is slightly more than $6, making it the most expensive state to fill up a car.
States that have surpassed the $5 a gallon threshold include Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, while gas prices in New York and Arizona are nearing that threshold with $4.90 a gallon.
Utah, Idaho, Vermont, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, the District of Columbia, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island have average gas prices that range from $4.60 to $4.86 per gallon.
Because consumers are spending more on gas, they are cutting back on other consumer goods and services, said Peter McCrory, U.S. Economist at J.P. Morgan Research.
“We think the 20% spike in gas prices may be lowering nominal non-gas consumption by $9.6 billion per month—shaving 0.26% off of overall nominal consumption on an annualized basis,” McRory said.
Republican National Committee (RNC) chairwoman Ronna McDaniel told reporters that Americans are suffering from financial strain due to skyrocketing gas prices.
“Paired with historic inflation and shortages for basic goods like baby formula, the rising cost of gas is the result of Joe Biden and Democrats’ anti-U.S. energy agenda,” McDaniel said. “Unfortunately, Biden only plans to make this crisis worse for families by not doing anything.”
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden claimed that soaring gas prices is transitory toward a greener economy, insisting that his administration’s actions helped keep gas prices “from getting worse.”
“When it comes to the gas prices, we’re going through an incredible transition that is taking place that, God willing, when it’s over, we’ll be stronger and the world will be stronger and less reliant on fossil fuels when this is over,” Biden said during a press conference in Japan.
