Have you wondered lately why the gas prices are so high? The average gas price in the Northwest Ohio area is $2.90. When and how did this get so high, is what you might be asking your self. Well, it isn’t just one thing that has a major impact on that gas price. There are several reasons for the rise in prices. The recent pressure on prices mostly comes from ethanol import barriers - the United States has imposed a 54-cent-per-gallon tariff on imported ethanol. If the United States where to lower that, then that would greatly reduce prices in the United States. The crude oil prices have also raised by 17 dollars making the prices for a barrel of crude oil just under $95. Upward pressure on the price of oil is also coming from Nigeria, where 25 percent of production is out, t he result of rebel attacks on oil facilities. Iran has said it is pursuing nuclear enrichment for peaceful purposes, a move that has distressed many in the international community, including the United States, which contends that Iran's goal is to develop nuclear weapons. Gasoline has about 15 cents to go to meet its inflation-adjusted record high of $3.03, also set in February 1981, when the Iranian revolution and oil embargoes caused world petroleum prices to surge. The District of Columbia and five states saw average prices of $3 or higher. The states are Illinois, Nevada, Wisconsin, California and Hawaii.