Industry forecasts indicate that during the upcoming Labor Day weekend, the gasoline prices in the United States are expected to hit their lowest levels since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. According to analysis and predictions released by GasBuddy, a company that tracks national oil prices, the average gasoline price in the U.S. is set to drop to $3.15 per gallon over the long weekend, a decrease of 14 cents from 2024, marking the lowest level since Labor Day in 2020.
This upcoming Labor Day weekend will see the cheapest gas prices in recent years. The average gasoline prices over the past four Labor Day weekends were as follows: $3.16 per gallon in 2021, $3.79 per gallon in 2022, $3.77 per gallon in 2023, and $3.29 per gallon in 2024.
Patrick De Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, stated in a released statement, “Labor Day signals the unofficial end of summer, and in terms of gas prices, it’s been the cheapest summer for travel since the pandemic. This trend is likely to continue, with the national average gas prices possibly falling below $3 per gallon this fall.”
De Haan pointed out, “With rising incomes and falling gas prices, we’ve seen a very economically friendly summer, but there are still some challenges ahead: hurricane season, trade uncertainties, tariffs, and the war between Russia and Ukraine.”
“However, I remain optimistic that as the weather cools down, gas prices will also seasonally decrease,” he added.
Despite the overall decline in gas prices in the U.S., some states have experienced price hikes in the past month due to local refineries shutting down. Since returning to the White House in January, U.S. President Trump has repeatedly urged the oil production alliance of OPEC+ to lower oil prices in an effort to weaken Russia’s oil revenue and bring an end to the war in Ukraine. Earlier this month, OPEC+ announced significant production increases for September to accelerate the reversal of previous production cuts and compete for market share. The global trend of oversupply in the oil market has also contributed to the drop in U.S. gas prices.