There is likely to be some backlog for vacation on Memorial Day weekend as 37 million Americans are expected to board a plane or take to the streets to travel, according to AAA.
The long weekend is usually the unofficial start of summer, and this year it comes with many vaccinated Americans eager to take to the streets.
U.S. travel is expected to have increased 60 percent this holiday weekend from last year when many looked cautiously at the COVID-19 pandemic and stayed home. That has spiked gasoline prices, and it will be more acute in the Las Vegas Valley than any other part of the country.
The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline this week was $ 3.03. Memorial Day weekend prices haven’t been as high since 2014, when they averaged $ 3.65 per gallon.
Currently, the average price of gasoline in Nevada is higher than other parts of the country. On Friday it was $ 3.62 a gallon, according to the AAA Nevada – down from $ 3.46 a month ago and from $ 2.43 a year ago.
“Demand has increased, and we will see it when America reopens – though perhaps not as much demand for gasoline as it is for the Las Vegas buffets,” said Patrick De Haan, senior oil analyst at GasBuddy.com.
“Highest payment you have made since 2014”
Nevada is among the states that pay more for fuel products, De Haan said. On the west coast, gas prices were higher due to a tight market.
“Nevada is the third most expensive after California and Hawaii,” he told the Review Journal in an interview on Friday. “You’re likely in the top 5 or 10 percent of all cities nationwide for the highest gasoline prices.”
It costs an average of $ 4.19 per gallon in California, $ 3.92 in Hawaii, $ 3.59 in Nevada, and $ 3.48 in Washington, De Haan said. Nevadans haven’t seen awards like this in years.
“If you look at the average prices in Las Vegas, it’s now $ 3.62 a gallon – the highest amount you’ve paid since 2014,” he said. Gasoline prices hit $ 3.45 in 2019. “It’s not incredibly expensive, but it’s pretty close to 2019 – just a little bit higher.”
AAA Nevada spokesman Sergio Avila said prices would go up by the weekend. He added that there is a silver lining: gasoline prices are likely to be cheaper on Father’s Day than on Memorial Day because demand plummeted after the three-day weekend.
De Haan expects a similar decline.
It’s unlikely to hit $ 4 a gallon
Nationally, De Haan said he expects gasoline prices to range from $ 2.75 to $ 3.25 a gallon over the summer.
“In Las Vegas that could be $ 3.40 to $ 3.85 a gallon,” he added.
De Haan said gas prices are unlikely to exceed $ 4 a gallon this summer, although “there won’t be much air to breathe” if there are refining problems from California, which is a large part of Nevada’s fuel products supplies.
The introduction of the vaccine has encouraged a gradual return to normal activities and a strong labor market supports work-related driving, but discretionary driving has room for growth, said Lenny Rodriguez, team leader at S&P Global Platts.
AAA recommends filling up the gas tank before arriving at vacation destinations, as gasoline prices can be higher near popular tourist spots.
Contact Jonathan Ng at jng@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ByJonathanNg on Twitter. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
