BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — People are paying much more for products due to inflation across the country. According to CBS News, average gas prices have jumped to $4.45 a gallon.

The price of food at the grocery store is also taking a toll on millions of Americans, inflation is hitting home with apartments rent nationally being up by 17%.

“Prices will continue to rise,” said Victor Claar, an economics professor at Florida Gulf Coast University. “I think the best we can hope for us that they rise a little less slowly than they have been lately.”

Economists expect the government to raise baseline interest rates again this summer.

Inflation is currently nearing a 40-year high.