GasBuddy: Memorial Day Weekend gas prices not just higher than any other Memorial Day, but full $1 per gallon higher than previous record
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Texas Insider Report) — GasBuddy's head of petroleum analysis says the National Average Price of gasoline in the U.S. on May 22nd was at $4.57 per gallon, up 10.5 cents from just a week earlier. And a dire prediction in a growing chorus of foecasts came from a JPMorgan analyst who said on May 17th that prices at the pump could surge another 37% by August – to an estimated national average of $6.20 per gallon.
Yes, the average price of regular-grade gasoline spiked .33 cents over the past two weeks according to the Lundberg Survey – to $4.71 per gallon – which comes as more and more analysts are predicting prices at the pump will climb above $6 a gallon by the end of the summer.
And data from the American Automobile Association (AAA) shows that in the week between May 16th and May 23rd, the National Average Price for a gallon of regular gasoline increased by .11 cents to $4.60.GasBuddy predicted in a recent Twitter post that gas prices this coming Memorial Day Weekend could be not just higher than any other Memorial Day on record, but will be a full $1 per gallon higher than the previous Memorial Day record set in 2014, of $3.99 per gallon set in 2014.
AAA has said that the current supply and demand dynamic, “combined with volatile crude prices, will likely continue to keep upward pressure on pump prices.”
Andrew Gross, the national spokesman for AAA, said in a recent interview that the American Automobile Association expects gasoline prices to climb further just ahead of this weekend's Memorial Holiday – and increase into the summer's peak driving season.
AAA has said that the current supply and demand dynamic, “combined with volatile crude prices, will likely continue to keep upward pressure on pump prices.”
Andrew Gross, the national spokesman for AAA, said in a recent interview that the American Automobile Association expects gasoline prices to climb further just ahead of this weekend's Memorial Holiday – and increase into the summer's peak driving season.
Nationwide, the highest average price for regular-grade gas was in the San Francisco Bay Area, at $6.20 per gallon, according to the survey, while the lowest average was in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at $3.92 per gallon.
“Typically refiners produce more gasoline ahead of the summer road-trip season, building up inventories,” said Natasha Kaneva, head of Global Commodities Research at JPMorgan.
Since mid-April, however, “gasoline inventories have fallen counter seasonally, and today sit at the lowest seasonal levels since 2019,” she added.
As a result, oil prices surged to more than $130 per barrel in March over concerns of President Biden's repeated policy decisions to curtain domestic oil & gas productioin, as well a disrupted supplies from Russia.
Since mid-April, however, “gasoline inventories have fallen counter seasonally, and today sit at the lowest seasonal levels since 2019,” she added.
As a result, oil prices surged to more than $130 per barrel in March over concerns of President Biden's repeated policy decisions to curtain domestic oil & gas productioin, as well a disrupted supplies from Russia.
- READ MORE: JPMorgan Analysts Have Predicted How Much Your Gas Will Cost This Summer, and It's Not Good
- 28 States saw record-high gas prices over the past couple of weeks, and it looks like things are about to get worse.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its most recent Short-Term Energy Outlook that Global Oil Inventory Levels in developed countries for April at stood at 2.63 billion barrels, up marginally from February, when they fell to their lowest level since April 2014.“Because oil inventories are currently low, we expect downward oil price pressures will be limited and market conditions will exist for significant price volatility,” EIA noted.
Brent Crude Futures rose by 1.32 cents cents to $113.82 a barrel Monday morning, May 23rd, while the U.S. benchmark of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude jumped by 1.24 cents to $111.52.
