Earlier this year, Americans began noticing that gas prices were starting to rise. There were a few reasons for this, including the Colonial Pipeline hack and other supply disruptions. But the main change has been that with the pandemic dissipating, more people are traveling, leading to higher demand and therefore higher prices. In May, the average gas price rose over $3 for the first time in seven years.

Now, after a brief dip, gas prices have begun to rise again.

According to GasBuddy, the average gas price per gallon in the U.S. rose to $3.09 last week.

“With oil’s continued push higher, fueled by continued strong demand globally and production only slowly answering, gasoline prices have had no choice but following oil’s rise last week setting a new 2021 high,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, said in a blog post this week.

As we approach July 4, it appears the only way forward is for gas prices to continue to rise as Americans’ insatiable demand for gasoline continues to act as a catalyst. And with hurricane season soon coming into its prime, we have plenty more catalysts for a rise in price, and few that could restrain the situation. Motorists should prepare to dig deeper for the second half of the summer, unfortunately.

The most frequent gas price in the United States, in the last week, was $2.89 per gallon, followed by $2.99, $2.79, and $3.09.

The states with the lowest average prices were Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, while the highest were California, Hawaii, and Nevada.

Throughout the year, many have tried to tie the rise in gas prices to the policies of President Joseph Biden. His predecessor, Donald Trump, has specifically blamed Biden for the rise in prices.

“I’m sorry to say the gasoline prices that you will be confronted with are far higher than they were just a short number of months ago where we had gasoline under $2 a gallon,” Trump said in a statement last month.

Remember as you’re watching the meter tick, and your dollars pile up, how great of a job Donald Trump did as President. Soon Russia and the Middle East will be making a fortune on oil, and you will be saying how good it was to have me as your President.

The reason the gas prices were so low in mid-2020, of course, was the pandemic caused demand to crash, and brought prices to below the $2 mark. Meanwhile, the United States did not, contra Trump, become “energy-independent” during the Trump years, as the economy continued to import energy from abroad, as it long has.

Stephen Silver, a technology writer for The National Interest, is a journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philly Voice, Philadelphia Weekly, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Living Life Fearless, Backstage magazine, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.

Image: Reuters.