The average price of gasoline in the U.S. surpassed $5 per gallon for the first time ever on Thursday, according to gas price site GasBuddy.
The latest high price comes after months of rising prices and is likely to add to a political headache from the Biden administration even though presidents only have limited control over the price of the fuel.
GasBuddy, in a statement, attributed price increases to high seasonal demand — people tend to drive more in the summer — and pandemic-related supply constraints.
The site, and other experts, have also cited Russia’s War in Ukraine and lowered U.S. capacity to refine oil into gasoline as additional factors.
Over the past few years, a handful of North American refiners have shuttered because of a fire, flooding and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“All of these factors have created an environment ripe for a surge in gas prices, while Americans balk at prices but continue filling up as demand has seen little decline,” the group said in a statement.
However, Republicans are likely to try to place the blame on President Biden and the Democrats as the midterms approach.
Experts have rejected many of these claims, noting that the price is largely based on the price of oil, which is sold in a global market and Biden’s policies are more likely to impact supply over the long term rather than right now.
Democrats, meanwhile, have sought to blame oil companies for alleged price gouging, though analysts have told The Hill they haven’t seen evidence of widespread gouging.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told The Hill via email that the site live-tracks gasoline prices from a database of 150,000 gas stations, but not all of them are updated daily.