More than 37 million people are expected to hit the roads this holiday weekend, up 6% from a year ago, according to AAA. Despite rising road travel, the cost of road trips is easing. Drivers across the country will be greeted by gas prices much cheaper than a year ago. The national average for regular gasoline stands at $3.57 a gallon as of Friday, according to AAA. That’s up from wintertime lows — but down by more than $1 from the year-ago average of $4.
Why gas is cheaper It’s important to note that even though gas prices have fallen sharply over the past year, they were lower in 2021 and especially 2020 when Covid-19 shut the economy down. There are a variety of reasons for the gas price decline — and not all of them are positive. The central factor is that oil prices, which are the main driver of retail gas prices, are down. Trading at about $72 a barrel on Friday, US oil is 37% cheaper than a year ago.