You May Have Sticker Shock at Pump This Memorial Day

Drivers gearing up for Memorial Day road trips are facing the steepest holiday fuel costs in four years. AAA says the national average for regular gas has climbed to $4.56 a gallon, up 3 cents in a week and $1.38 from a year ago, with prices pushed higher by the ongoing disruption of oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, reports Quartz. The last time Memorial Day prices were in this neighborhood was 2022, when the average hit $4.61. GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan tells Axios that more than 90% of the year-over-year jump stems from the conflict with Iran, which has slowed traffic through a waterway that normally carries about a fifth of the world's oil.

Even so, Americans aren't staying home. AAA expects a record 45 million people to travel at least 50 miles over the holiday, with 87% driving—both figures topping last year's and 2019's. Every state now averages above $4 a gallon, while seven states are above $5. California currently sits highest, at $6.14, while Mississippi is lowest, at $4.01 per gallon. GasBuddy's models suggest a summer average of $4.80, and if the Hormuz closure drags on, analysts say the 2022 record of $5.02 could be back in play. Brown University researchers estimate the Iran war has added about $24 billion to US household gasoline costs so far, or an average of about $200 per household. NPR offers some tips on how to save on this front.