Gas prices are surging in the United States with the national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline hitting $3.84 a gallon. Experts are now warning that more bad news is on the horizon. According to numbers released by AAA, gas prices have jumped 18 cents since Wednesday and almost 30 cents since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In some areas of Southern California, drivers are reporting up to $5.50 for a gallon of regular gasoline.

Tom Kloza, the global head of energy analysis at OPIS says “it’s absolutely out of control, this is not the end of it. We’re already up another 14 cents on wholesale gas prices this morning.”

The price increases are due to both rising costs contributed to inflation and the current war in Ukraine. While the United States has held off prohibiting the trade of Russian oil to the US, oil traders have been hesitant to buy Russian oil due to concerns about not being able to close transactions because of sanctions imposed on the Russian banking sector.