Soaring Gas Prices To Curb Vacations This Year: Survey

PITTSBURGH, PA - Rising gas prices are going to trigger a rise in staycations and a plunge in vacations this summer, according to GasBuddy’s 2018 Summer Travel survey.

Only 58 percent of people plan to take a road trip this summer, compared to 82 percent last year. Thirty-nine percent of respondents cited high gas prices as their reason for staying home compared to 19 percent in 2017.

The survey results were released a the national average gas price is at its highest point in more than three years because of OPEC production cuts, the U.S. exiting the Iran nuclear deal, a drop in U.S. oil inventories and high demand.

In Pittsburgh, the average price for a gallon of unleaded fuel Monday was $3.14, according to GasBuddy. That’s an increase of 5.8 cents from last week, 18.6 cents from last month and 47 cents from last year.

The average gas prices in Pittsburgh are higher than the state average of $3.06 a gallon and the national average of $2.94. Nationally, gas prices are expected to hit $2.95 per gallon on Memorial Day, a 65-cent increase over Memorial Day 2017.

That increase will cost motorists $1 billion more than last year just on the holiday weekend from Thursday through Monday alone.

Expect higher prices to linger all summer.

“With refineries now well positioned for the summer months, we may see some relief in mid-June,“ Patrick DeHaan, GasBuddy head of petroleum analysis, said in a statement. “But expect this summer to remain the priciest since 2014 with a strong likelihood of the national average hitting the psychological $3 per gallon barrier sometime this summer should we see any unexpected outages or geopolitical tensions flare.”

Image via Shutterstock.

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