Topline
As tens of millions of Americans are expected to hit the road for Memorial Day weekend travel, analysts expect those travelers might see a reprieve at the pump, as gasoline prices in the U.S. plateau heading into the unofficial start of summer.
Gas prices could fall ahead of Memorial Day, experts say.
Key Facts
The national average price for a gallon of gas costs $3.64, according to data from GasBuddy and AAA, a two cent drop from a week ago putting the national average just above where it stood this time last year.
AAA spokesperson Andrew Gross said last week he expects gas prices to remain “somewhat flat for the immediate future,” citing dropping oil prices (the Brent Crude Oil has since climbed up to $83.5 per barrel, though it’s still nearly $8 below where it stood last month).
Patrick De Haan, head petroleum analyst for GasBuddy, also expects lower prices heading into Memorial Day, with wholesale gas prices dropping to their lowest point since February.
De Haan speculated that $2.99 per gallon could be a possibility by July 4 at roughly one in 10 stations, likely across the South and Great Plains (the average price at the cheapest 10% of US. stations is $3.04 as of Wednesday).
U.S. gas inventories have also inched up, a promising sign for drivers, with the Energy Information Administration reporting a 4% increase from this point last year, to 227.1 million barrels as of late last month.
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Contra
Prices are highest in California, where drivers are paying $5.33 on average, above Hawaii ($4.82), Washington ($4.66), Nevada ($4.51) and Oregon ($4.45)—West Coast states typically see higher prices due to a combination of factors, including shipping costs and state gas taxes. Mississippi is the cheapest state for gas, at $3.11 on average, according to AAA, putting it ahead of Oklahoma ($3.17), Kansas ($3.20), Louisiana ($3.20), Colorado ($3.22), Texas ($3.25) Minnesota ($3.26) and New Mexico ($3.26).
Big Number
42.3 million. That’s how many Americans AAA expected to travel at least 50 miles over the Memorial Day weekend last year, making it the third busiest Memorial Day weekend in over two decades. Of those 42.3 million travelers, the vast majority (37.1 million) were expected to drive, a 6% increase over 2022, though just short of pre-pandemic levels.
Key Background
Gas prices in the U.S. have taken a rollercoaster series of highs and lows over the past two years, reaching an all time high over $5 per gallon in June 2022 before riding a wave of peaks and dips on the coattails of massive fluctuations in the international energy market. While gas prices typically inch upwards as demand heats up heading into the summer months, gas and oil prices have also shot up following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, as well as turmoil in the Middle East and recent oil production cuts by Saudi Arabia and Russia, bringing oil prices to an 11-month high last September at nearly $94 per barrel. Gas prices shot up again last month to a six-month high just below $3.70 as oil prices remained stubbornly high, and as turbulence overseas continued to shake up the international market.
