People everywhere are feeling the crunch of rising gas prices. The national average today (Mar. 16) is $2.87 a gallon. We haven’t seen gas prices that high since May 2018 when the pump price was $2.98.  Experts say there are many factors for the rise but the biggest is much more demand currently following a year-long COVID-19 gas usage draught. With very little traveling, Oil companies found themselves backed up with more oil than storage space.  Oil industry officials said it’s pretty simple: when gas stops flowing in the U.S. the price of crude falls drastically. When consumption goes back, so does the price. Not long after Covid hit hard a year ago traveling became almost nonexistent.  Recently, the COVID-19 is easing up a bit in some areas and people are getting back to traveling.  Most experts say we may see prices hit $3.00 or more in the coming weeks.