Memorial Day weekend gas prices at 7-year high

Memorial Day weekend gas prices are going to hit a seven-year high after the Colonial Pipeline shutdown.

AAA reported the current average gas price is $3.04 compared to $1.97 last year during the holiday weekend. 

This increase will impact many of the 34 million Americans the organization expects to travel by car this weekend.

Some areas, especially in the Southeast, could still be feeling the effects of the gas price surge earlier this month when there was a ransomware attack that caused the Colonial Pipeline to shut down.

Although the prices were beginning to steady the week after the attack, analysts predicted prices would fluctuate during Memorial Day weekend.

However, gas prices are not the only travel prices going up this weekend.

Airfares, Airbnb bookings and car rental prices are all expected to spike over the weekend.

“We don’t expect these higher prices to negatively impact travel for Memorial Day or this summer. There is significant pent-up demand right now and Americans are eager to get out and travel. When travel prices have increased in the past, we find travelers may look for more free activities or eat out less while on vacation, but they still take their planned trips,” an AAA spokesperson said.

The number of people traveling by car this year is up 53 percent from last year when the economy was still shut down from the coronavirus, AAA reported.

Hotel prices are the only ones to seem unaffected by the surge in travel as their prices are below levels seen before the pandemic.