Gasoline Prices, a Source of Pain Last Year, Have Come Way Down

Americans who fill up their cars this Memorial Day weekend will catch a break — at least compared with a year ago, when gasoline prices were soaring.

The national average price for regular gasoline is a full dollar a gallon lower than a year ago. Drivers paid over $4.60 in May 2022, and prices had reached $5 by the second week of June. This week, they paid just over $3.50 a gallon for regular gasoline, according to AAA, the motor club.

Many energy experts said they expected prices to stay around these levels for much of the summer, barring a major disruption to global oil supplies.

Because gasoline prices are posted on street corners on big colorful signs, they can have a powerful psychological impact on consumers, especially on middle- and lower-income people who tend to drive older, less fuel-efficient vehicles and spend a larger proportion of their income on energy than affluent…