How much do you pay for gas? If a response to this question isn’t numerical, it likely consists of two words: “too much”. With prices rising 10 cents per week in Edwardsville and all across Illinois, many people are frustrated.

But this issue exists beyond Edwardsville and the price hike is far from going away.

According to the EIA, Americans consume about 338 million gallons of motor gasoline per day. And today people are having to buy their gas at a seven-year high. The American Automobile Association says the average cost of gasoline rose to $3.27 Monday, the lowest prices available in Edwardsville hovering at $3.29.

This spike in prices comes in the wake of the drop in oil’s value in April 2020, when a barrel of oil was valued at negative $40, CNN says. Since then, OPEC, which dominates the world’s oil industry, has yet to increase oil production enough to support the current demand for oil. People are getting out now and need transportation — and fuel to supply it.

This limited supply coupled with demand increases is the reason for oil prices spiking.

Prices are going to get worse before they get better, CNN predicts, with the cost of oil per barrel expected to increase from the current $80 to $100 in the winter.

Although it’s tempting to wait in hopes of prices dropping, there’s no decrease in the near future.  It’s best that you fill your gas tanks as soon as possible, before prices rise again.