Why is the BTC fee so high?

Could you please elaborate on why the Bitcoin transaction fee is currently so steep? I've noticed a significant increase in the cost of sending BTC lately, and I'm curious as to what factors might be driving this surge. Is it due to network congestion? Is there a limited supply of miners processing transactions? Or perhaps the price of BTC itself is influencing the fee? I'm trying to understand the economics behind this and how it might impact the overall usability and scalability of the Bitcoin network. Your insights would be greatly appreciated.