(Bloomberg) -- With stories of flight delays and lost luggage weighing on the minds of travelers, cheap gas prices are luring some back to the road for weekend escapes.
The national average for a regular gallon of gasoline has fallen to $3.978, according to auto association AAA, with prices in 27 states now less than $4. This is the first time since early March that fuel prices have been so low.
States with the lowest gas prices are Texas, Arkansas and South Carolina. Only California and Hawaii are over $5 — but not by much, with both below $5.40.
Metro areas with prices approaching $3 a gallon include Greene, Arkansas; Quitman, Georgia; Comanche, Oklahoma; and Cameron, Texas, with Henderson, Kentucky, at $3.015.
"This Labor Day weekend, many of the top hotel destinations that don't include a flight booking are Southern hotspots, such as Nashville, Tennessee, and Greenville, South Carolina,” TripActions spokesperson Kelly Soderlund said. With gas prices rapidly decreasing, the travel booking platform has seen a 22% increase in US car rental bookings since mid-July.
“A few forces are at play here, including falling gas prices and elevated airfares that have been up 38% since January 2022 per Adobe Analytics data, as well as falling e-commerce prices that could bolster some discretionary spending,” said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights.
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
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