Crude oil hits highest price in nearly three years

Crude oil Monday rose to its highest price in almost three years as demand rebounds and restrictions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic are lifted.

ABC News reported that crude oil in the U.S. was $71.50 per barrel on Monday, its highest price since October 2018 and around $23 more expensive per barrel than it was in January.

Crude oil prices have been steadily rising since the beginning of this year, ABC noted, as demand for travel returns. The average price of gas in the U.S. has also been rising for eight weeks straight, reaching $3.07 per gallon on Monday.

“We’ve seen the national average gas price continue to inch higher as oil prices have reached $71 per barrel, the highest since 2018, and as gasoline demand continues to rebound,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for the fuel-tracking site GasBuddy, told ABC.

“Strong gasoline demand as states and cities reopen will likely continue to be a major factor keeping gas prices elevated, even as oil production climbs in the months ahead,” he added. “With most additional supply being gobbled up very quickly, gas prices will likely stay at elevated levels for the foreseeable future.”

“Prices for the rest of the month are likely to push more expensive, but if crude production increases, as forecasted, there is the possibility of seeing some relief at the pump later this summer,” Jeanette McGee, a spokesperson for the American Automobile Association, told ABC.

McGee noted that drivers are paying an average of 37 percent more to fill up their tanks than they did at the beginning of the year.