Why Are Gas Prices So High? May’s Ask Me Anything
Students ask some of the best questions about energy.
In our Ask Me Anything series, Dr. Scott Tinker and Switch Classroom experts answer real questions submitted by students and teachers.
This month, Dr. Scott Tinker answers a question from Remelia Arpino’s class in Houston, Texas:
“Why are gas prices so high?”
The Short Answer:
Gasoline prices are tied directly to the price of oil, as are diesel, jet fuel, and many other products we depend on in daily life, such as plastics, synthetic fabrics, medicines, fertilizers, and more. At the highest level, the price of oil is a function of supply and demand. Global oil demand was as high as it has ever been in 2025, led by Asia, which now consumes more oil than any other geopolitical region by far.
Is This a Challenge?
When the supply of oil is reduced, the price of oil goes up, along with gasoline and many other products. This can happen when ocean tankers face restrictions traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, or when oil production is limited by government policies, as in California and the UK.
Some U.S. states, like California, and European countries like the UK and Germany, add significant taxes to gasoline to help pay for other government programs. The federal gasoline tax is only about $0.18/gallon. The California tax on gasoline is over $0.60/gallon. Expensive gasoline and expensive electricity are economically regressive, which means people with lower incomes pay a greater proportion of their income for energy.
What Could the Future Look Like?
No one can predict the price of oil. People get paid a lot to try, and they are rarely correct!
The actual price of oil is set by global trading, like most commodities. Hundreds of thousands of buyers and sellers negotiate prices in real time, globally. The starting point is a benchmark, a reference price for a well-known type of oil. The two most widely used are Brent Crude in the North Sea and West Texas Intermediate in the U.S.
Because of U.S. oil production from shale, OPEC does not have the same cartel leverage that it once had. A cartel, as Merriam-Webster defines it, is a combination of independent enterprises designed to limit competition or fix prices, and that power depends on controlling enough supply to matter. But that leverage could change if U.S. and specific state policies restrict drilling, the building of pipelines, and other needed infrastructure.
Explore Energy Resources for Your Classroom
Want to dig deeper into this topic? These Switch Classroom resources can help students explore the science behind this month’s answer.
- Energy Demand and Scale: Explore how supply, demand, technology, and daily habits all shape the energy systems behind the prices we pay.
- Science of Oil: Help students see why oil prices fluctuate by investigating how oil forms, where it’s produced, and how global supply shapes everyday costs.
- Switch, Chapter 3, Foundational Energies: Oil: Watch Dr. Scott Tinker follow oil from offshore drilling to refining while explaining how oil prices can shape the global economy.
- Modern Oil Drilling and Unconventional Sources: Show students how technologies like horizontal drilling expanded oil access while increasing costs, water use, and emissions.
What Should We Tackle Next?
We’re already planning future AMA topics, and we’d love your input. Vote for a question below, or submit your own idea for a future Ask Me Anything.
We’ll be back in mid-August with a new AMA question selected from this month’s poll, perfect for kicking off class, filling the last five minutes, or anchoring a discussion post on Canvas.