five dollar gas is here get used to it that’s according to gasbuddy an aggregator of pump prices which said the national average on thursday reached the 5gallon price point “it’s been one kink after another this year and worst of all demand doesn’t seem to be responding to the surge in gas prices meaning there is a high probability that prices could go even higher in the weeks ahead” said patrick de haan gasbuddy’s head of petroleum analysis the average price edged down to 498 later in the day thursday according to gasbuddy’s real time ticking average but that’s just a snapshot in time aaa’s national average on thursday stood at 497 but a spokesman told marketwatch the organization expects the average to reach the 5 mark over the weekend there are almost 20 states where gas costs at least 5gallon aaa data shows it all comes a day before another reminder of the high cost of living these days on friday the bureau of labor statistics is scheduled to release may inflation data and analysts are predicting a 07 monthly rise in costs on consumer goods and services in april the yearoveryear inflation rate was 83 a slight decline from a month earlier but still at steamy fourdecade highs the dow jones industrial average djia  sp 500 spx and the nasdaq composite comp all finished sharply lower thursday with investors sweating over friday’s forthcoming inflation data when it comes to gas prices increased seasonal demand is on a crash course with highpriced oil the biggest factor in prices the economic consequences of russia’s ongoing invasion of ukraine have trimmed back global supply in a time of rising demand gasbuddy noted diminished refining capacity has also ratcheted up the costs it added at this point the global economy is in a ‘critical situation’ according to some observers of course gas priced at least 5gallon has been a reality in many states already starting with california drivers in the golden state are currently paying 639gallon according to gasbuddy data the rest of america could be paying those prices in a matter of months with jp morgan jpm analysts predicting 6 averages by the end of august but the 5 mark may carry extra psychological weight some previous surveys have suggested that’s the price point where drivers increasingly take steps to scale back their driving habits the question will be to what extent hot inflation and high gas prices will melt away summer travel and recreation plans as americans try to leave the pandemic behind “it’s a perfect storm of factors all aligning to create a rare environment of rapid price hikes” de haan said in a thursday statement “the situation could become even worse should there be any unexpected issues at the nation’s refineries or a major hurricane that impacts oil production or refineries this summer” guess what the national oceanic and atmospheric administration is bracing for an “abovenormal” hurricane season this year