Labor Day Gas Prices Could Be Above $4 a Gallon

(Undated) — For the first time in history, $4-a-gallon gas could impact Labor Day travelers. According to GasBuddy Head of Petroleum Analysis, Patrick De Haan, average gasoline prices moved higher in the majority of states over the last week, with fewer than 10 states seeing declines, while diesel surged nearly 17 cents per gallon nationally, leaving it less than 25 cents away from an all-time record high. He says gasoline, while not at all-time records, is at its highest level ever recorded this late in the calendar year, meaning Americans could for the first time ever see a national average price of gasoline above $4 per gallon on Labor Day, eclipsing the previous record of $3.83 per gallon set in 2012. De Haan says while some oil shipments are apparently getting through the Strait of Hormuz, the dominant force propping up both gasoline and diesel prices is increasingly the growing loss of Russian refinery capacity, as continued Ukrainian attacks knock more facilities offline and constrain the global supply of refined fuels. He says until that refining supply picture improves, both gasoline and diesel prices face continued upward pressure. The current national average is $4.09 a gallon.