If you head to the gas pump this weekend you might notice a significant price increase compared to Memorial Day weekend last year.
According to CNN Money average gas prices have jumped by 31 percent over the past year in the U.S. The average for this weekend, where 41.5 million Americans are reportedly hitting the road for a vacation, will be at $2.97 per gallon.
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The site reports gas prices haven’t been this high at this time of year since 2014, when crude oil was nearing triple digits per barrel.
“Without a doubt people are noticing and they’re feeling the pinch,” Patrick DeHaan, GasBuddy head of petroleum analysis, told the site.
There are a number of factors for the recent price surge. The first is demand, given that the number of expected traveling Americans jumped up by 2 million compared to last year and is the highest since 2005 for a Memorial Day weekend.
The second reason is crude oil prices, which hit $80 per barrel for the U.S. recently, a 50 percent increase compared to 2017. Those prices reportedly began to climb back up after crashing in 2015 thanks to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil cartel teaming with Russia to slash production prices.
Another factor turned out to be President Donald Trump’s decision to exit the Iran nuclear deal in early May, according to CNN.
DeHaan told the news outlet that the prices will likely grow to $3 per gallon average over the weekend before slightly dropping down for the rest of the summer.
“This could be the high-water mark for the driving season,” he said. “It’s starting to cause some sticker shock and maybe some resentment. But I don’t think it will hold people back.”
So how can the prices go back down? It turns out there are a few ways. A Goldman Sachs spokesperson suggested to CNN Money on May 11 that Trump could decide to use the emergency stockpile of stored oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to compensate for a decrease in Iranian oil production.
Another option would be for the OPEC and Russia partnership to step in and increase production on barrels. However the site mentioned that option is unlikely for the near future.
While many Americans will choose to drive during the three-day weekend, others will have plenty of options for entertainment if they choose to stay home. Both Netflix and Hulu announced a stacked lineup of releases of shows and films coming to their streaming services this weekend.
