With Memorial Day weekend underway and many already beginning their travel, Americans taking to the road this holiday weekend will save upwards of $1.6 billion at the pump, according to experts.
According to AAA, more than 37 million people are expected to do some form of travel this weekend, an increase of 6% from a year ago, and even with more people traveling, costs are expected to be down.
The main factor in this is the current national average for a gallon of gas — which AAA reports is $3.57 — being more than a dollar cheaper than last year at this time, at $4.60.
Patrick De Haan, the head of petroleum analysis for the gas monitoring company GasBuddy, shared earlier this month that Americans should expect to see prices remain low at the pump, even though they are currently up from what was seen throughout the winter.
Now, his company tells CNN that $1.6 billion in savings is expected to come from the dollar differences this year, and De Haan says that prices are in a good spot compared to last June’s $5.02 a gallon high.
“Those who waited to take a road trip this summer are being rewarded with big savings on gasoline,” De Haan told CNN.
However, cheaper gas doesn’t point to a better economy overall, as De Haan shared with News Talk 830 WCCO’s Chad Hartman that cheaper oil and gas prices show the concern that remains about the Federal Reserve’s continued interest rate hikes and a possible recession.
Another potential threat to a recession hitting the U.S. economy was the recently resolved debt talks in Congress.
President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced on Saturday that they had come to an agreement to raise the debt limit, coming in with days to spare before the U.S. would have defaulted and thrown the economy into a tailspin.
As for now, gas prices remain cheaper, one good sign as Americans are expected to hit the roads more this summer than any since before the pandemic.
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