Higher gas prices: Where and why. Blame production cuts.
It was the longest losing streak for gasoline prices since the early months of the pandemic: For 98-consecutive days this summer, American drivers experienced declining gas prices thanks in part to a slower worldwide demand for oil. Now, a cut in oil production signaled by the OPEC+ group last week has sent global crude prices higher, pushing prices back up at the pump. According to AAA, the national average price of a gallon of gas climbed to $3.92 on Monday. Prices are likely to keep going higher from here as oil prices climb, according to Patrick De Haan, chief petroleum analyst at the gas price tracking group GasBuddy.com. “With OPEC+ deciding to cut oil production by two million barrels a day, we’ve seen oil prices surge 20%, which is the primary factor in the national average rising for the third straight week,” he said in a blog post Monday. For the rest of the country, De Haan said he expects prices to rise as much as $0.30 from their September lows, which would put them at a...