Gas prices soaring over Memorial Day holiday weekend
As thousands of Chicagoans wrap up road trips over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, gas prices in the city have reached the highest levels seen in four years.
The ongoing war with Iran is responsible for the steep rise in gas prices.
As of Monday, the average price of a gallon of regular gas in Chicago was $5.35, according to AAA. In all of Cook County, the average was $5.15, and in the six-county Chicago metropolitan area, the average was $5.06.
Some drivers said those prices made them think twice about their weekend plans.
Anton Brown winced as he was filling up his minivan at the pump ahead of a day of fun with his family on Monday. At a Thornton gas station in the south suburbs, the price was $4.89 per gallon.
"It's crazy! I've got to pay almost $100 now to fill up," he said. "The gas prices just need to drop."
The extra money Brown and other drivers have been spending on gas in recent months have to be cut from something else in their budget.
"It's taking a hundred and some dollars away from what I was going to do extra for the kids," Brown said.
Gregory Parker also was among drivers stretching their pocketbook to fill the tank, sometimes changing plans to save some money. He said it used to cost $30 to fill up his tank, but now costs nearly $70.
"I've been in the house for a week straight all last week because of the gas prices," he said.
Despite the highest gas prices for this time of year since 2022, AAA projected more than 39 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more by car for Memorial Day weekend, a record.
Nationwide, the average price of regular gas as of Monday was more than $4.50, dropping less than a penny from Sunday's average.
With negotiations between the Trump administration and Iran making progress toward ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, when could drivers feel the difference at the pump?
"Price cycles could be delayed as oil prices fall on prospect of a deal-but too early to say how long the drop continues,"
GasBuddy head of petroleum analysis Patrick Dehaan posted on X that gas prices "continue to fall beyond what seemed optimistic a week ago."
"Price cycles could be delayed as oil prices fall on prospect of a deal-but too early to say how long the drop continues," he wrote.
Sam Ori, executive director at the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth at the University of Chicago, noted Iran recently allowed 30 ships to travel through the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend as negotiations on a peace deal continued.
"The initial points that have been circulated online and through intermediaries suggest there has been agreement on some initial steps to open the strait of Hormuz," he said. "This number of 30 vessels through the strait yesterday, that's a big change, and if that continues to grow over the coming days, I think we will be in a position where or a situation where you could imagine some price relief."