Keystone Today

It's a miserable Memorial Day milestone for Pennsylvania drivers: The highest inflation-adjusted gasoline prices in the last decade.

"On May 23, heading into this Memorial Day weekend, the U.S. average retail price of regular gasoline was $4.59 per gallon, the highest inflation-adjusted (real) price since 2012," the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a news release May 27.

The Gasoline Misery Index on gasmiseryindex.com tracks how much more (or less) the average American consumer will have to spend on gasoline on an annualized basis. The latest Index shows that the average Pennsylvania resident will spend an average of $713 more this year than they did last year.

Gasoline prices continued to either rise or remain steady this week, but have yet to decline, the index showed. Today's national average price per gallon has been reported at $4.60, nearly 50 cents higher than a month ago. The latest Gasoline Misery Index shows that on average, Americans will spend $814 more annually on gasoline now than they did at this time last year. In the state of Pennsylvania, the average is $4.76 per gallon and the misery number sits at $713.

AAA reported that according to new data from the EIA, total domestic gasoline stocks decreased by 500,000 bbl to 219.7 million bbl last week. Gasoline demand also dipped slightly from 9 million b/d to 8.8 million b/d, which is why prices have remained relatively steady in the last seven days.

In light of Memorial Day weekend, GasBuddy asked Americans about inflation’s effects on their travel plans. According to a press release on the site, 70% said their summer travel plans have been affected by high gas prices (an increase of 24% over 2021).

“Against a backdrop of gas prices that have continued to set new records ahead of Memorial Day, Americans have been resilient in their desire to hit the road, but we’re certainly seeing increased hesitancy due to rising prices at the pump. Soaring inflation has led to uncertainty over rising costs,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy.

According to a AAA newsroom report, more than 39 million people are expected to travel 50 miles or more from home during the 2022 Memorial Day holiday weekend. Drivers can expect to pay an average of 51% more to fill up their tanks this weekend compared to last year.

The Gasoline Misery Index is compiled using gas price data from the American Automobile Association (AAA), average fuel efficiency (mpg) data from the U.S. Department of Energy and average miles driven from MetroMile.com. The index tracks the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline and adjusts using the average miles traveled by the average miles per gallon of American cars.

According to the EIA, in January 2021 the national average price per gallon of gasoline was $2.33. It has increased 97% when compared to Friday's national average price of $4.60. A number that gasolinemiseryindex.com calls the Biden Misery Index, Americans are spending an average of $1,192 more per year on gasoline today since the president entered office in January 2021.