• 3 minutes e-car sales collapse
  • 6 minutes America Is Exceptional in Its Political Divide
  • 11 minutes Perovskites, a ‘dirt cheap’ alternative to silicon, just got a lot more efficient
  • 5 hours GREEN NEW DEAL = BLIZZARD OF LIES
  • 6 days If hydrogen is the answer, you're asking the wrong question
  • 11 hours How Far Have We Really Gotten With Alternative Energy
  • 10 days Biden's $2 trillion Plan for Insfrastructure and Jobs

Breaking News:

Oil Prices Gain 2% on Tightening Supply

Sudan's Civil War Sparks Oil Supply Concerns

Sudan's Civil War Sparks Oil Supply Concerns

Sudan's civil war has been…

China Buys Up Russian Oil

China Buys Up Russian Oil

China is on track to…

U.S. Gasoline Prices Surge To New Record High On Memorial Day

U.S. gasoline prices hit a new all-time high on Memorial Day, the start of the summer driving season, with the national average exceeding $4.61 per gallon.

On May 30, the national average price of a gallon of regular gasoline was $4.619, according to data from AAA. That’s up from $4.596 per gallon a week ago, $4.178 a month ago, and up from the $3.045/gal average price at this time last year.

Gasoline prices in the United States have been setting all-time highs nearly every day in the past few weeks, adding more pressure to the Biden Administration to try to curb the highest prices on record.

Heading into the Memorial Day weekend, inflation-adjusted—or real—gasoline prices in the United States were at their highest in a decade, at a national average of $4.59 per gallon, the Energy Information Administration said on Friday. On a nominal basis, this price was the all-time high price for gasoline recorded in EIA’s weekly Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update, which dates back to 1990.

High crude oil prices, the effect of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on the crude and fuel markets, and U.S. gasoline demand exceeding refinery runs are the key factors driving the record-high gasoline prices in nominal terms, the EIA noted. 

But there are early signs that high gasoline prices may have started to destroy some demand.

On Thursday before the Memorial Day holiday weekend, gasoline demand was 4.3% higher from a week ago, or 5.4% higher than the four-week average, according to data from fuel-savings app GasBuddy. Considering that it’s just ahead of the holiday weekend, it’s “Pretty lackluster and signs that demand destruction is hitting the Memorial Day weekend,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, said. 

GasBuddy data showed that weekly (Sunday through this past Saturday) U.S. gasoline demand rose by 0.5 percent compared to the previous week and was 1.2 percent above the average of the last four weeks.

“This is quite weak for demand given the Memorial Day weekend,” GasBuddy’s De Haan tweeted.

Going forward, “we’ll likely make a run to $4.75/gal in the next couple weeks barring any major change,” De Haan said on Monday, adding that estimated odds of gasoline prices reaching a national of $5/gal this summer are at 65%.  

ADVERTISEMENT

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:



Join the discussion | Back to homepage



Leave a comment
  • shon on May 31 2022 said:
    of course the prices are up on a holiday that's what they do price gouge on holidays cause they know more people will be on the roads. it is such BS how they get away with it !!!
  • Michael on May 30 2022 said:
    One mid morning in May 2008 I saw first hand what “demand destruction” looked like. There was little road traffic despite the beautiful weather. The big box stores I shopped at were largely devoid of shoppers. One very large chain store had a handful of shoppers at 11am.

    The cable business shows were still upbeat - no recession, no banking or housing crisis! All was under control! That’s why folks on Wall Street got paid so much.

Leave a comment

EXXON Mobil -0.35
Open57.81 Trading Vol.6.96M Previous Vol.241.7B
BUY 57.15
Sell 57.00
Oilprice - The No. 1 Source for Oil & Energy News