Analyst on why gas prices are so high

There is a lot of finger-pointing about who's to blame for the high gasoline prices.

Republicans blame the Biden administration while Democrats say the oil companies are price-gouging. Analyst Severin Borenstein of Berkeley's Energy Institute told CBS News the root of the problem is more complex.

"Most of the increase has come from crude oil prices going up, and that's because world demand has been coming back quite strongly from the pandemic and supply hasn't caught up," he said. "Even before Russia attacked Ukraine, we were seeing the production of oil lagging. Producers in the United States are reporting they're having a hard time getting workers to come back to the oil fields. They're having supply chain problems with parts and equipment."

Oil companies are benefiting from the spike in prices at the pump. In the first 3 months of the year, Chevron's profits rose 33% over the last three months of 2021. Shell's profits jumped 42% while Conoco Philips is up 43%, and British Petroleum's profits soared 51%.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/analyst-on-why-gas-prices-are-so-high/ar-AAXz8CW