Gas prices in the US have surged to an eight-month high after foreign suppliers slashed production, and experts are warning that a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico could trigger further increases.

On Friday the national average price of regular gasoline stood at $3.73-a-gallon, a sharp increase from $3.55 one month ago, though still well below the record highs seen last summer, according to AAA.

As usual, California has the highest gas prices in the nation, with an average of $4.95, and pump prices topping $6 in the Golden State’s remote Mono County bordering Yosemite National Park.

Although gas prices normally increase during the summer travel season, experts say the big issue this year is supply constrictions, after the OPEC+ alliance announced production cuts earlier this month.

‘The primary culprit is a higher oil price, which has recently increased to the mid-$70s per barrel,’ AAA said in a statement. 

On Friday the national average price of regular gasoline stood at $3.73. California has the highest gas prices in the nation, with a state average of $4.95

 A customer prepares to pump gas into his car at a gas station in San Anselmo, California on Wednesday. The national gasoline price has hit an eight-month high this week

AAA spokesman Robert Sinclair told the New York Post that a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico could send gas prices up 25 cents or more by disrupting the supply chain.

‘The major X factor is a hurricane hitting the oil infrastructure of the Gulf Coast. That could send prices soaring overnight,’ he told the outlet. 

‘And with water temperatures around Florida at 100 degrees, the possibility of the formation of a major storm is increased.’ 

Hurricane season in the Atlantic runs from June 1 to November 30. 

NOAA is forecasting a range of 12 to 17 total named storms with winds of 39 mph or higher over the season. 

Though creeping gas prices are causing pain for motorists, this summer’s prices remain well below those seen a year ago, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent world oil prices soaring.

At this time last summer, the national average was $4.28 per gallon. Prices peaked at more than $5 per gallon, a new record high, on June 13, 2022.

This year there are fairly large variations in regional gas prices, which may be due to a blistering heat wave. 

Gas prices have surged to an eight-month high after suppliers slashed production, and experts are warning that a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico could trigger further increases

US average gas prices are shown as of last week. Though they’ve been rising sharply, they remain below the record highs seen last summer

‘Gas demand barely budged from last week, yet compared to this time in 2022, it is higher nationwide except for the Gulf Coast, Texas, and New Mexico,’ said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson, in a statement last week. 

‘Some industry experts speculate that scorching temps in that region are keeping people off the road,’ reducing demand, he noted. 

Supply cuts from foreign oil producers are the main factor in rising oil prices, experts say. 

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and major producers including Russia, together known as OPEC+, have been cutting supply since November to support prices.

Russia pledged to reduce its oil export supplies by 500,000 barrels per day in August in order to prop up the market, while Saudi Arabia extended its 1 million bpd output cuts.

For the year through April, US crude oil production rose 9.5 percent from the same period in 2022, and is on pace to set an annual record, according to federal data

The OPEC+ group is hoping to bolster prices that have been driven down in part by a surge of US domestic production.

For the year through April, US crude oil production rose 9.5 percent from the same period in 2022, and is on pace to set an annual record, according to federal data.

Though President Joe Biden touts renewable energy, his administration has pushed for more domestic oil production after facing harsh criticism from Republican critics over gas prices.

In its first two years, the Biden administration approved roughly 6,500 applications for permits to drill, according to Bureau of Land Management data. 

This slightly outpaces the first two years of the Trump administration, during which just under 6,300 permits were approved. 

The US has been the world’s top oil producer by volume each year since 2018.