It's almost Memorial Day weekend for 2018, and with that, there will be plenty of people traveling to attend parties or see family and friends. In fact, AAA estimates that there will be over 41 million travelers on the roads. That will mean a lot of miles for those trips, requiring a few stops at the gas station to fill up. Gas prices just so happen to be surging right now too, which is going to mean many travelers will be shelling out extra money to be able to afford those trips.

Surging gas prices all over

The AAA website provides a map and chart displaying the average price of gas per gallon in each state.

Right now, AAA reports that the national average as of May 22 is $2.932 per gallon. Some of the lowest average prices are in the southern states. These include Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama which have prices just over $2.60 per gallon.

Some of the highest average gas prices on the U.S. map can be found in the Northeast or out west. For example, Connecticut has average prices over $3.11, while Washington is over $3.40 a gallon. Hawaii residents are paying over $3.60 per gallon, on average. However, no state is currently feeling the "pain at the pump" more than California, with an average cost of $3.713 per gallon. Ouch!

Why the higher prices?

If one heads to Twitter, there are plenty of commenters angry over their rising prices. Many of them are also pointing out that these new high prices have come under President Trump. There is some contention that Trump could have caused the prices to surge due to imposing sanctions on Iran and pulling out of the nuclear weapons agreement with them.

Iran is generally known for being an oil-rich nation.

On Friday, the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) listed a new high price for WTI crude oil for the year as it reached $69.72.

The prices were reportedly inching higher as news of President Trump's actions involving Iran was coming out. However, that may not be the main underlying cause for the prices increasing.

According to ABC7, Jeff Spring of AAA said the "supply and demand of oil and gas" could be another reason for these recent soaring prices. There had been a surplus for several years, but more recently that has changed. Now that there's a reduction of that glut, it's leading to higher prices for gas and oil.

Will gas prices keep going up?

In a recent piece by Ken Fisher from USA Today, he speculates that these continuously rising gas prices won't last. Fisher mentioned that Iran produces 4.5 million barrels of oil per day and exports 2.5 million of them.

By comparison, he says that the U.S. produces 10.5 million barrels a day with expectations of reaching near 12 million in 2019.

There's the fact that Saudi Arabia could help with the demand for oil if Iran is playing hardball now. Fisher said he believes that "single-country sanctions never bite," which seems to imply that Iran won't have a significant impact on gas prices when it comes to the United States. Fisher also said not to expect a drastic decrease in price at the pump either, as there are state taxes to factor in for gasoline, as well as supply bottlenecks in the United States.

However, the good news is that things shouldn't keep getting worse. While paying more at the pump won't be so enjoyable, at least the festivities of Memorial Day 2018 -- BBQs, vacations, and spending time with friends and family -- should help soothe the pain some.
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