Memorial Day Travel A Little More Expensive This Year

May 25, 2014

Memorial Day weekend travel is just a little bit tougher on the wallet this year as compared to 2013.

According to the AAA Fuel Gage Report, the average cost of a gallon of regular unleaded in Escambia County was $3.59 Saturday, down a nickel over a month ago. Last year, a gallon of unleaded gas averaged $3.41 per gallon on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. The current national average is $3.65 per gallon.

AAA Travel projects 36.1 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more from home during the Memorial Day holiday weekend, a 1.5 percent increase from the 35.5 million people who traveled last year.  Kicking off the summer driving season, more than eight in ten travelers will be driving to their destinations.  The Memorial Day holiday travel period is defined as Thursday, May 22 to Monday, May 26.

The national average ended a 16-day streak of daily declines last week, but has still dropped on 18 of the last 21 days.  Reported increases in retail demand due to warmer temperatures are adding some upward pressure on wholesale prices, and the rise in demand is beginning to outpace the increases in supplies. Even with these minor fluctuations in price, the national average is expected to remain well below last year’s peak price of $3.79 per gallon.

Political tensions between Russia and the Ukraine continue to keep global markets on edge and are being closely monitored by market watchers for any signs of escalation.  Last Friday, President Putin sent a letter to European Union governments indicating that a disruption in supply may be on the horizon.  Although analysts report the probability of a long-term disruption is relatively low, a cutoff of supply by Russia could have ripple effects that would be felt in Europe and the United States.

Comments

2 Responses to “Memorial Day Travel A Little More Expensive This Year”

  1. dave thomas on May 25th, 2014 2:31 pm

    My thought are that it has a lot to do with Obama’s administration’s energy policy. We need Keystone to go though so that we be a lot more independent.

  2. Fishhook240 on May 25th, 2014 6:13 am

    Just pure GREED by the oil companies. Every holiday they do this “Crooks” IThe price will go down the first of next week.