Business
Memorial Day blues: U.S. gas prices hit new record high
Prices are expected to rise even further and a recent report from the Daily Mail reveals that experts believe a gallon of gas will likely surpass the $6 mark by the end of summer.
May 30, 2022 9:11am
Updated: May 30, 2022 3:57pm
U.S. gas prices once again hit a record-high on Sunday, ringing Memorial Day in with an all-time peak of $4.61 per gallon – an increase of more than 50% compared to the same time last year, just as thousands of Americans hit the road to visit family and friends across the country.
But prices are expected to rise even further and a recent report from the Daily Mail reveals that experts believe a gallon of gas will likely surpass the $6 mark by the end of summer.
Last week, the price of a gallon of gas in each of the 50 states surpassed the $4 mark, but California cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco already saw prices hit $6 earlier this month.
According to analysts, more states could see average prices above $5 a gallon by the July 4 holiday thanks to an unmitigated inflationary that has brought consumer prices to 40-year highs.
“I don’t think as many people are going to hit the road, and if they do, I think a good portion are going to be staying close to home,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told CNBC.
“They’re definitely should be a noticeable bump, but my impression is people are not driving as far. The concern is high prices that are keeping people a little closer. There’s also work-from-home that changed things. There’s a strong subset of people that can basically work from the road all the time.”
This weekend, AAA released a report that estimated that some 39.2 million people will travel 50 miles or more this weekend – an increase of 8.3% over last year. Furthermore, the expectation is that there will be 4.6% more drivers on the road during the three-day weekend, although that number is still down 7.2% from 2019, according to the report.
Across the country, the price of gas varies widely, with a high of $6.07 per gallon in California and $4.13 per gallon in Georgia. But as prices continue to rise, analysts have said that they will not fill their vehicles as often – leaving a question of energy demand looming on the horizon.
