American motorists are buying $4 gas on Labor Day weekend for the first time in history, a fuel analyst reports.
A gallon of regular unleaded gas cost an average of $4.15 nationwide on Sept. 6, AAA reports.
That’s nowhere near the all-time record, $5.02 a gallon in June 2022, but it’s the most we’ve ever forked over for fuel on Labor Day weekend.
"Gasoline, while not at all-time records, is at its highest level ever recorded this late in the calendar year," said GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan, writing in a recent post on X.
De Haan predicted American drivers "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."
Gas prices usually drop by Labor Day weekend
In a normal year, gas
prices follow a seasonal cycle, bottoming out in the depth of winter, when people drive less, and rising steadily through spring and summer, when temperatures are warmer, days are longer and Americans drive more.
But this is not a normal year. The Iran war has driven up global oil prices for months. On top of that, Russia has lost capacity in its refineries, De Haan said, amid ongoing attacks in its war with Ukraine. Together, those forces have pushed U.S. gas prices to their highest levels on record for this time of year.
On Sept. 6 last year, a gallon of regular cost $3.20, according to AAA.
"It's completely out of control," said Randi O’Brien, 57, while filling up her truck at a Phillips 66 station near Evergreen, Colorado.
American diesel fuel prices have also reached a record high, and not just for Labor Day.
The national average price of diesel hit $5.85 per gallon on Sept. 3, De Haan reports, surpassing the previous high of $5.82 a gallon in June 2022.
De Haan said 2026 is likely to be the most expensive year for diesel fuel in U.S. history.
Contributing: Reuters
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Labor Day weekend gas prices have never been higher
