You may pay more than ever for a late-summer drive this year. As of Monday, U.S. drivers were paying an average of $3.72 per gallon—the highest price ever on this date, according to auto club AAA. That’s a shade above the $3.71 average on Aug. 20, 2008. A year ago, the average was $3.57. More daily price-per-gallon records are likely over the next few weeks. The national average could increase to $3.75 per gallon by Labor Day, says Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service. By comparison, gas prices stayed below $3.70 in late August and early September in both 2008 and 2011. Retail gasoline prices have gone up about 39 cents per gallon, or 12%, since hitting a low of $3.33 on July 2, according to AAA, OPIS and Wright Express. Kloza estimates that U.S. drivers are paying $149 million more each day for gas than in early July. Analysts expect prices to drop after Labor Day, so at least drivers shouldn’t have to worry about a return to the April high of $3.94 per gallon, barring a hurricane or other unforeseen event. Locally, drivers in Louisiana are paying about 20 cents less per gallon than their peers across the country. As of this morning, the average gallon of gas was going for $3.54, according to BatonRougeGasPrices.com.
Today’s poll question: Are you driving your vehicle(s) less now that gas prices are at record highs?
