Gas prices — the subject of considerable political spin and even a doughnut promotion as millions of Americans hit the roadways and went shopping during the long holiday weekend — averaged $3.18 a gallon nationally and $3.20 in Michigan, according to AAA.
Petroleum analysts and news outlets have attempted to explain the fluctuations in prices in a global economy disrupted by tariffs and a shifting U.S. energy policy that encourages increased fossil fuel use and environmental deregulation.
The national gas price average, derived from a survey of about 120,000 gas stations, was 41 cents less on Monday than it was a year ago, but the same as a week ago.
Michigan’s average was down 46 cents from a year ago, but up three cents from last week.
Throughout the state, the highest gas price averages by community were in Benton Harbor, $3.27 a gallon; Lansing, $3.26 and Grand Rapids, $3.25, and the lowest were in Traverse City, $3.04; Marquette, $3.08 and metro Detroit, $3.16.
Amid the Memorial Day sales for everything from coffee makers, Apple watches, giant-screen TVs, refrigerators, headphones, swimsuits and “perfect vintage jeans,” Krispy Kreme crafted a quirky campaign around gas prices.
The doughnut company advertised: “Long weekend plans = snacks on deck,” urging folks to buy a box of a dozen original glazed doughnuts to “fuel up” for $3.17, the national average before rounding up, when you “buy any dozen!”
And the Trump administration touted low gas prices and “the Trump Effect in action,” saying fuel was “the cheapest since 2021” and “if you adjust for inflation and rising wages,” and excluded the pandemic years, Americans were spending “the least amount filling up this Memorial Day since 2003.”
The White House, which attributed its claims to GasBuddy, went on to declare “Biden’s war on American energy is over” and trumpeted Trump’s “relentless action to revive the nation’s energy capabilities and undo the Biden-era stranglehold on American energy production.”
Patrick DeHaan, GasBuddy’s senior petroleum analyst, confirmed on X that “speaking seasonally, all 50 states are lower than last Memorial Day” and noted that gas prices were at their lowest seasonal (Memorial Day) level since 2021.”
DeHaan said gas prices are at their lowest inflation-adjusted level since 2003, excluding 2020, meaning Americans are putting “less of their paycheck into their tanks,” although prices are higher than they were in December.”
In the last six months, DeHaan said, gas prices “climbed in 39 of the nation’s 50 states, declined in 11.”
Politicians, he added, will “lie/incorrectly lead you to believe they’ve done something,” adding “the bulk of this has been recent economic turmoil, as well as OPEC production changes, and continued re-balancing of the global economy” since the pandemic.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil has been trading at less than $62 a barrel and could fall. At its May 31 meeting, Bloomberg News reported, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is expected to discuss whether to increase oil output.
The price of oil is a key factor in the price of gasoline. More oil production could be good for consumers, but bad for oil companies, which also affects the economy. When prices fall, oil companies tend to profit less.
Fact-checkers also have suggested that previous claims by President Donald Trump that gas has been selling for less than $2 a gallon, and by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that prices have “collapsed under President Trump,” were misleading.
DeHaan also warned that hurricane season, if turbulent, could cause spikes in gas prices, and forecasted last week that “due to a large jump in wholesale prices,” the retail price could go up.
Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Memorial Day gas prices pop up in ads and national political posturing
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