The Memorial Day holiday weekend marks the start of the summer driving season, and already drivers are limiting their trips due to record gasoline prices that are expected to go even higher.
The national average for unleaded gasoline is now $4.599 per gallon, just below a record of $4.60. That’s also a 40% increase so far this year and well above last year’s $3.04 per gallon level, according to AAA. By the July 4 holiday, more states could see average prices above $5 a gallon, analysts say.
“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,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “They 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.”
The upcoming holiday weekend is expected to be the busiest for travel in two years, but driving should still be below 2019 levels. AAA expects 39.2 million people in total will travel 50 miles or more this weekend, an increase of 8.3% over last year. Of that, there are expected to be 4.6% more drivers on the road during the three-day weekend, but that number is still down 7.2% from 2019.
Meanwhile, Record-high meat prices are having a chilling effect on summer-grilling demand in the US. With costs for ground beef and chicken breasts at all-time highs, consumers have few alternatives to switch to different proteins — so some may skip them entirely.
According to Yahoo News, The US Memorial Day holiday on Monday is considered the unofficial opening of the outdoor grilling season, and the surging costs are pointing to a disappointing start. Price pain in meat comes after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine stalled crop exports in the Black Sea, pushing up the costs of animal feed. Even prices for propane used to power grills have soared.
“The inflationary environment is starting to take its toll,” said Michael Nepveux, senior analyst for animal protein at Stable USA, which offers risk-management tools for some commodities. ‘‘Instead of steak or chicken, we might have pasta or a pizza.’’
