If you’re traveling anywhere for the 4th of July, it’ll cost you.
According to GasBuddy, the national average for a gallon of gas is expected to hover around $2.90 per gallon on Independence Day, which would be the highest average price since 2014, when it was $3.66. Analysts say after five straight weeks of prices dropping, gas prices are likely to go up again as oil prices surged to $73 per barrel yesterday, the highest since 2014.
The State Department has ordered buyers to curb their oil purchases from Iran by November. In addition, OPEC’s smaller than expected oil production increase last week fueled speculation that global inventories will continue to drop, and a government report showed U.S. oil inventories dropped 3 times as much as expected as total petroleum exports from the U.S. hit a new record high.
The difference may not seem significant given that current gas prices are below the peak of $2.98 per gallon hit in May, but over the first four days of July, gas purchases will cost motorists $1.02 billion more than last year.
