Rising Gas Prices Could Make Memorial Day Travel Cost More This Year
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Many Americans are packing up, getting ready to head out for the holiday weekend. If that's you, pack some extra cash.
Gas prices are still going up, jumping even more overnight -- and experts say the worst may still be yet to come.
In Blaine on Thursday, the price of gas at one station was $4.29 a gallon. WCCO's Pauleen Le also saw $4.29 in Richfield. In Maple Grove, Le found prices at $4.09.
"That's kind of the reason why I've been taking the bike, because at least it doesn't hurt as much when I fill it up," Ethan Burk, a motorcyclist in Maple Grove, said. "Because I look at this and it's like, ah you know, it's only 8 bucks. When I fill up my car it's like 30, 40 bucks, like jeez man. That hurts."
Right now, the average price for unleaded in Minnesota is $4.21. That's up 7 cents in a week, 33 cents from a month ago and 38 cents from this time last year.
And the worst is yet to come. GasBuddy predicts gas prices could reach $5 a gallon in just a matter of weeks.
"This may be the low point for the summer, in what could become certainly a very expensive summer to fill your tank," GasBuddy's Patrick De Haan said.
Comparatively speaking, Minnesota is doing better than our neighbors in Wisconsin. The average there is $4.34. The national average is $4.60
AAA says of the more than 39 million people are expected to travel this weekend; 35 million will be traveling by car.
