$5 Gas In NJ? Memorial Day Weekend Could See Even Higher Prices

NEW JERSEY — The cost of gas on holiday weekends used to be a small price to pay for summer fun. But a normal day in 2022 has pricier gas than Memorial Day weekends in past years.

New Jersey gas averaged $4.77 per gallon Tuesday, while the national average totaled $4.60, according to AAA. The state's average gas price rose 16 cents in the past week, setting up the possibility for more $5 pumps on the way to the Jersey Shore or other destinations this weekend.

The rise in gas prices continues but appears to be slowing down, according to Patrick De Haan, GasBuddy's head of petroleum analysis. And that could set up some not-so-fun summer memories at the pump.

"While the coast isn’t clear yet," De Haan said, "and prices will be at their highest Memorial Day level ever, I’m hopeful that we could avoid a dreaded national average of $5 per gallon this year. Whether or not we’re able to depends on Americans cutting demand in the face of sky high prices."

AAA predicts 39.2 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home this Memorial Day Weekend — 8.3 percent more than last year and almost in line with 2017's figures. And 34.9 million of them will travel by car, according to AAA's forecast.

In New Jersey, the auto club expects that to take the form of 936,442 holiday-weekend travelers, including 860,330 by car.

National gas prices have risen every month since April 2020, when they averaged $1.94 per gallon at the beginning of the pandemic, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

COVID measures created instability in the oil market as more people stayed home instead of driving to work and other places. That's largely changed, but supply hasn't recovered, according to Berkeley Energy Institute analyst Severin Borenstein.

"Most of the increase has come from crude oil prices going up, and that's because world demand has been coming back quite strongly from the pandemic and supply hasn't caught up," Borenstein told CBS News.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine sent the market of elevated oil prices into further disarray, with gas up more than $1.05 since the Russian military crossed into the territory Feb. 24, according to AAA.

"That sent shock waves through the oil market that have kept oil costs elevated," said AAA spokesperson Andrew Gross. "Domestically, meanwhile, seasonal gas demand is rising as more drivers hit the road, despite the pain they face paying at the pump."

But profits for oil and gas companies have also soared. In the first three months of the year, Chevron's profits increased 33 percent over the last three months of 2021, according to CBS News. Shell's profits are up 42 percent, Conoco Philips profits jumped 43 percent and British Petroleum's rose by 51 percent.