The Oil prices in the country have risen to an all time high since the 2008 gas crisis. There are many reasons as to why the gas prices are so high but the main reasons are Covid-19 and Russia declaring war on Ukraine. What could these high gas prices cause? Consumers wonder. CBS News writes this about the effect of high gas prices: “Not surprisingly, soaring gas prices are having a very real impact on household budgets: A typical family may incur an additional cost of $2,000 this year simply due to the higher costs, according to one Wall Street estimate”.  This explains that high gas prices can be a big problem for consumers and households because they have a lot more on gas which could be used on other important things like food and supplies. 

How has Covid-19 affected gas prices?

Covid-19 affects the gas prices because there is a high demand for the gas but the supply is short. Wtop news writes about how Covid-19 affected gas prices. “Gas prices are on the rise again, thanks to the highest oil prices in seven years, and industry analysts say they could go higher because of imbalances between supply and demand due to COVID-19”. Covid has caused an imbalance in the demand and supply of gas because there are many consumers who need gas but there is not enough gas being produced to satisfy the consumer. Supply and demand is at the bases of the issue. What is demand and supply? Supply and demand is the most important part of the economy. The most simple way to describe demand and supply is that if there is a large supply of an item then the demand for that item will be low. If there is a short supply of an item then the demand will be higher. In this case the demand for gas is high but the supply is short so the prices are rising because consumers are willing to pay the price because of the high demand. 

We interviewed Efrem Johanson, a student at Ipswich High School, about the rising gas prices and this is what he had to say. “They are super expensive and it costs double what it used to cost to fill my tank”. The gas prices are causing people to pay a lot more than before. A lot of people like Efrem are wondering when gas prices will begin to drop. Many experts expect that gas will stay high for weeks if not months. The United States will need to find alternatives to provide large amounts of gas to fulfill the its demand. For now nobody can say for sure when and how gas prices will drop but everybody will stay hopeful.