U.S. gas prices cents away from reaching $5 per gallon

(NewsNation) — The United States is just five cents away from gas costing an average of $5 a gallon.

The price has more than doubled compared to what it was in January 2021, when a gallon of regular gas was on average $2.38 per gallon.

On Tuesday, the national average price hit an all-time high of $4.95 gallon, according to GasBuddy.

Industry experts believe it’s no longer a question of if the average price will hit $5, but when.

Currently, the price of regular gas is more than $5 per gallon for residents in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington.

On Tuesday, Illinois surpassed Nevada with the second highest gas prices in the country. California still ranks the highest, with gas prices costing $6.35 per gallon, according to Gas Buddy.

The following states are nearing $5/gallon on average:
MA $4.990
ID $4.988
RI $4.984
VT $4.983
DE $4.976
UT $4.972
MD $4.953

The average price of gas around the world is $5.40, according to GlobalPetrolPrices.com.

The reason? Gasoline inventories in the region are falling to their lowest seasonal level ever, according to Patrick De Haan, the head petroleum analyst at GasBuddy.

If you’re looking for relief at the pump, there are some free apps that you can download to help.