By Ed Blazina From Pittsburgh Post-Gazette PITTSBURGH—To Patrick DeHaan, petroleum industry analyst at GasBuddy.com, the recent hike in summer gasoline prices to their highest level in seven years isn’t unusual. And it may not be over. “It’s supply and demand,” said DeHaan, noting that petroleum suppliers sharply reduced production during the pandemic as stay-at-home orders kept millions of drivers off the road starting in March 2020. Now, as pandemic restrictions are easing during the summer vacation season, many Americans are rushing to squeeze in a long-awaited vacation before schools reopen. “Demand has rebounded significantly,” DeHaan said. “Production has not.” As a result, prices have spiked. According to AAA, the retail price of gasoline has risen about 40 percent nationally since the beginning of the year, from about $2.40 a gallon in January to about $3.13 a gallon this week. In Western Pennsylvania, the average was about $3.24 a gallon last week …