US retail gasoline prices have climbed to fresh all-time highs just in time for the traditional start of America’s summer driving season, the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
Prices at the pump for regular-grade gasoline rose to $4.60 per gallon on Thursday and held around that level on Friday, according to data from the AAA motor club. The benchmark US fuel price has surged by 51% in the past year and more than 90% since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021.
Motorists are feeling the price pinch even more acutely in certain high-cost states. In California, for instance, gasoline set a new all-time high at nearly $6.08 per gallon on Friday. Hawaii and Washington also set new state records, averaging $5.43 per gallon and $5.22 per gallon, respectively.
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Diesel prices are even steeper, averaging $5.53 per gallon nationwide on Friday, less than a nickel below the all-time high of $5.57 set last week. Surging diesel costs will ripple through the US economy, economists have warned, because the fuel is used for the trucks and trains that deliver most consumer goods and for the farm equipment that produces America’s food.