Americans hitting the road for Memorial Day weekend are facing traffic problems, but at least gas prices are on the decline.
Average U.S. costs fell to $3.58 per gallon last week, down from $3.67 a month ago, according to federal data. That is comparable to last year.
It’s also about five percent below typical costs leading up to Memorial Day, based on the average price per year since 2000.
While regional fuel prices vary due to factors such as storms, taxes and refinery maintenance, gas prices across America have fallen over the past month.
“Since the pandemic, there has not been a strong increase in demand in the summer driving season, which could drive up pump prices.” said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesman.
Your browser does not support iframes.
‘So it will be interesting to see if this trend is broken this year. The Biden administration’s move this week to sell the million-barrel Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve could help prevent any regional pump price increases, but likely won’t change the national average that much.”
Drivers in Las Vegas, the Phoenix area and Sacramento, California, are seeing some of the biggest declines, according to AAA.
This drop comes just in time for Memorial Day, the unofficial start of the summer road trip season.
AAA predicts that a record 38.4 million people will travel 50 miles or more by car this weekend.
The top 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 country’s top 10 most expensive markets 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).