Highest gas prices of 2021 cast shadow over holiday weekend road trips

The national gas price average has reached its highest level so far this year and shows now sign of reprieve ahead of the Independence Day holiday travel weekend.

The average price of gas in the U.S. -- $3.10 as of Tuesday, according to the American Automobile Association -- is the highest so far in 2021 and there are no indicators it will fall ahead of the holiday weekend. Spiking global demand for crude oil as the pandemic eases is pushing up gas prices, as well as surging demand for air and road travel as more Americans become vaccinated. Meanwhile, limited but concerning reports of gas outages at stations across the country related to delivery issues are also ringing alarm bells for travelers looking to hit the road this weekend. Presently, gas outages should not be cause for widespread concern, according to Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at the fuel-tracking site GasBuddy. "So far, the problem is very limited and random in nature," DeHaan told ABC News, adding that stations and truckers are running behind schedule on fuel deliveries "to a very few amount of stations."