Americans hitting the road for Memorial Day weekend face traffic jams, but at least gas prices are going down.
The average cost in the United States fell to $3.58 per gallon last week, down from $3.67 a month ago, according to federal data. That’s similar to last year.
It’s also about five percent below the typical cost in the run-up to Memorial Day, based on the average price for each year since 2000.
While regional fuel prices vary due to factors such as storms, taxes and refinery maintenance, gasoline prices have fallen across the United States over the past month.
“Since the pandemic, the summer driving season has not seen an increase in demand, which may drive up prices at the pump,” said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesman..
‘So it will be interesting to see if this trend bucks that trend this year. The Biden Administration’s decision this week to sell off the Northeast’s 1 million barrels of reserve gasoline supply could help prevent any surge in pump prices in the region, but it likely won’t move the national average as much.
According to AAA, drivers in Las Vegas, the Phoenix area and Sacramento, California, are experiencing some of the largest declines.
This drop comes just in time for Memorial Day, the unofficial start of the summer road trip season.
AAA predicts a record 38.4 million people will travel 50 miles or more by car this weekend.
The 10 least expensive markets in the country are Mississippi ($3.06), Arkansas ($3.10), Oklahoma ($3.12), Kansas ($3.13), Louisiana ($3.16), Texas ($3.17), Missouri ($3.20), Tennessee ($3.21), South Carolina. ($3.21) and Alabama ($3.24).
The 10 most expensive markets in the country are California ($5.15), Hawaii ($4.78), Washington ($4.58), Oregon ($4.34), Nevada ($4.33), Alaska ($4.32), Illinois ($4.01), Arizona ($3.87), Idaho ($3.78) and Pennsylvania ($3.77).