Gas prices setting record for Labor Day

Buffalo, NY (WBEN) If you're hitting the road this holiday weekend, be ready to have Labor Day pains at the pump.

"it's going to be the most expensive Labor Day we've ever seen," says Gas Buddy's Patrick DeHaan. "Gas prices in Buffalo inching up a little bit in the last week, $4.19 a gallon this year going into Labor Day. That's up $1.08 a gallon from where we were a year ago." He says while it's not an outright record-setting Labor Day weekend, prices were higher in June of 2022. "But looking specifically at Labor Day, gas prices have never been this high. The national average likely to be about 20 cents a gallon above the previous record set in 2012, when the national average was 383 a gallon on Labor Day."

He says t's almost never just one factor dictating the price of oil or gasoline. "Some of the escalations that we've seen here to start the week are a major factor in what could be next. But it's not just the Strait of Hormuz, but also Ukraine attacks on Russian oil refineries and the overall state of the U.S. economy, to name a few. So there's certainly a lot of different factors, but the Strait of Hormuz is not the only issue. As I mentioned, Ukraine, which again attacked another Russian oil refinery overnight, continues to knock offline major refineries, and that continues to be problematic for the price of diesel and gasoline," explains DeHaan.

His advice for looking for cheaper gas? "Apps like Gas Buddy and Google Maps will show you lower gas prices if you're hitting the road for Labor Day," sys DeHaan. He notes state boundaries are danger zones for gas prices. "By crossing state lines over the holiday weekend, motorists could eventually see sticker shock going into another state. State gasoline taxes vary everywhere, and that can lead to impacts. Crossing state lines can impact prices in a significant way by 20 to 50 cents a gallon," warns DeHaan..