In May 2008 gas prices have been shattering records left and right and have finally reached an ultimate high in most places. The price of gas had been rising, and breaking records, for months. Other countries -- and even other states and cities -- can have very different gas prices from your local gas stop. To the average person, it probably seems as though there's little rhyme or reason to how gas prices are determined. The United States consumes about 20 million barrels of oil products per day. Of that, almost half is used for motor gasoline. The rest is used for distillate fuel oil, jet fuel, residual fuel and other oils. Each barrel of oil contains 42 gallons (159 L), which yields 19 to 20 gallons (75 L) of gasoline. So, in the United States, something like 178 million gallons of gasoline is consumed every day. As Americans continue to consume more and more gas, the prices are not looking to fall anytime in the future.