Fuel prices at a Wawa gas station in Annapolis, Md. Photo: Joshua Roberts/Bloomberg via Getty Images
U.S. gasoline prices spiked to $4.619 per gallon as of Monday — a record high, according to the latest data from the American Automobile Association.
Why it matters: The new high comes during Memorial Day weekend and is about 52% higher than prices from last year, Bloomberg reports.
Context: Gas prices reached high levels ahead of Memorial Day weekend. Per CNN, gas prices adjusted for inflation haven't been this high on Memorial Day weekend since 2012.
- AAA predicted 34.9 million people would travel by car over the holiday weekend, which is 3 million higher than 2021.
The other side: “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.
- “There 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.”
Flashback: Gas prices hit an all-time high of $4.37 a gallon earlier in May, which broke a record previously set in March, Axios' Jacob Knutson reports.
- The rising prices put immediate pressure on the Biden administration to help customers.
Yes, but: Costs have continued to rise despite efforts by Biden to lower costs, Fortune reports.