Gas prices continue to climb with drivers now paying the highest pump prices leading up to Memorial Day since 2014.
For the week, the national average for regular jumps a nickel to $2.93 a gallon, its highest price since November 2014. The Oregon average rises two cents to $3.31, its highest price since October 2014.
AAA projects that 41.5 million Americans will travel this Memorial Day weekend. That’s up 5 percent from last year and the most travelers since 2005. In the Pacific Region, Region (AK, CA, HI, OR, WA), 6.5 million people are expected to travel, a 5.4 percent increase compared to 2017.
Road trips are the most popular way to travel. Nationally, 88 percent of all travelers will drive to their holiday destinations. In the Pacific Region, 84 percent will travel by car.
“Pump prices normally increase in the spring with the switchover to summer blend gas and the start of summer driving. This year additional events are putting upward pressure on prices, including the reinstated Iran sanctions, decreased global supply, increased global demand, expensive crude oil and record U.S. production,” says Marie Dodds, public affairs director for AAA Oregon/Idaho. “AAA now projects that the national average will climb above $3 a gallon this summer. The Oregon average climbed above $3 on March 22 for the first time since August 2015 and has remained there since.”
Oregon is one of 49 states and the District of Columbia reporting week-over-week increases. The largest jumps are in Colorado (+9 cents) and Minnesota (+9 cents). Oregon has one of the smallest weekly increases at two cents, which is the 47thlargest in the country. Utah is the only state to see prices fall this week and its average only dropped by four-tenths of a cent.
