Staunton Star - Times - Published in the Interest of the Staunton Community for Over 143 Years

The national average price of gas in the U.S. surpassed $5 per gallon on Thursday, June 9, for the first time ever, according to GasBuddy, a fuel savings platform. This long-anticipated milestone comes behind months of gas price increases across the country, accelerated by the rise in seasonal demand amidst supply constraints borne out of the pandemic.

Gas prices have surged in recent weeks as U.S. gasoline inventories have fallen over 25 million barrels, or over one billion gallons, since the start of March amidst a global decline in refining capacity due to the Covid-19 pandemic and accel...