The retail prices of gasoline and diesel rose to a record-breaking high on Thursday due to rampant inflation that is causing economic costs worldwide.

According to the National Average for Regular Gallons of Gasoline, it was $4.418. AAA. Inflation is not taken into account.

Prices hit their highest on Wednesday and Tuesday in the past.

According to GasBuddy’s Patrick De Haan, consumers are paying 32 cents more per gallon now than they did last month. This translates into $125 million per day more for gasoline.

The pump prices are now $1.41 higher than last year.

On the heels of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in March, the national average was at $4 per gallon. Since then it has not fallen below that mark.

California’s state average is $5.853. The average price is now higher than $6 in ten of the state’s ten counties.

On Thursday, retail diesel prices set a new record. Nationally, the average gallon of diesel is $5.557. This is 53 cents more than it was last month.

Part of the surge in prices is due to refiners — which turn crude oil into the products like gasoline that are used daily — already running near full capacity.

While refinery capacity has fallen to levels pre-pandemics, demand for petroleum products is now at a high point as countries around the globe resume operation. A tightening market is further complicated by Russia’s loss of products.

According to the International Energy Agency, “All our refinery margin indicator were in the double-digit territory of April for the first ever regardless of location and complexity.” The current shortage of almost all product types, low inventories, and bottlenecks in refinery capacities have caused an extremely elastic short-term supply. This has led to cracks that affect almost all products reaching extraordinary high levels.