(The Center Square) – Drivers across Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., are heading into Memorial Day weekend with gas prices above $4 a gallon as record holiday travel pushes fuel demand higher across the region.
Virginia’s average gas price stood at $4.43 per gallon Friday. Maryland averaged $4.51, while Washington, D.C., reached $4.66, according to AAA.
The national average stood at $4.55 per gallon Friday.
AAA said Memorial Day weekend gas prices have reached their highest levels in four years as a record number of Americans are expected to travel during the holiday period, most by car.
Nationally, gas prices are up about $1.38 per gallon compared to the same time last year, according to AAA. Virginia drivers are paying roughly $1.39 more per gallon than they were a year ago, while Maryland prices are about $1.43 higher than last Memorial Day weekend.
AAA said gasoline demand remains high ahead of the holiday weekend, and the prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz is likely to keep fuel prices elevated as the summer travel season gets underway.
AAA noted current prices are approaching what drivers paid four years ago, when the national average on Memorial Day weekend reached $4.61 per gallon.
Despite the higher statewide averages, GasBuddy listings Friday showed some stations in Virginia and Maryland selling regular gasoline below the statewide averages, including several locations under $4 per gallon.
AAA maps Friday showed some of Virginia’s highest gas prices clustered in Northern Virginia and areas closer to Washington, while parts of Southwest Virginia remained lower.
AAA said gasoline demand increased last week while supply levels and crude oil inventories declined.
Pump prices are likely to remain elevated as the summer travel season gets underway, according to AAA.
