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BusinessAugust 30, 2021

Fuel industry experts expect gasoline prices to peak during the Labor Day holiday weekend, traditionally the summer's last major driving weekend, before gradually falling this fall. According to GasBuddy, the average price across the nation for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline this weekend will be $3.11, about 90 cents higher than a year ago and the highest Labor Day price since 2014 when gasoline sold for an average of $3.43 a gallon...

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Fuel industry experts expect gasoline prices to peak during the Labor Day holiday weekend, traditionally the summer's last major driving weekend, before gradually falling this fall.

According to GasBuddy, the average price across the nation for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline this weekend will be $3.11, about 90 cents higher than a year ago and the highest Labor Day price since 2014 when gasoline sold for an average of $3.43 a gallon.

Gasoline prices have been steadily increasing in recent months as more and more Americans returned to the nation's highways. However, due to the Delta variant, the return to school and a reluctance of many companies to reopen offices during the pandemic, economists are forecasting gas prices to drift lower this fall.

"As demand for gasoline has begun to cool with schools reopening and vacation season wrapping up, we've seen a small amount of relief at the pump just in time for Labor Day," said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy.

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"While COVID continues to have a leading role in gasoline demand and as companies plan their return to offices, prices may be less predictable than normal," he continued. "However, seasonality will persist and that means less gasoline demand as we progress through fall and into winter, and cost savings from the switch back to cheaper winter gasoline in mid-September. We should see more relief at the pump coming the deeper into fall we go."

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In Southeast Missouri, gasoline prices at the pump generally ranged from around $2.69 to $2.85 per gallon last week.

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