Gas Prices: Temperatures Climb But Pump Pain Eases

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Prices on gasoline tend to spike as warmer weather approaches, but 2025 seems to be an exception to these seasonal increases. Fuel prices have stayed low across the board through the first four months of the new year – and could drop even further as the peak summer driving season draws nigh.

Nationally, the average cost of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline stood at $3.136 – nearly half a dollar below where it was last year, according to the latest numbers from AAA.

That’s great news for the record 41.5 million Americans expected to travel domestically over the Memorial Day holiday (including the 39.4 million expected to drive to their destination, per AAA).

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According to the latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), demand for finished motor gasoline slipped to 8.717 million barrels per day compared to 9.098 million barrels per day the previous week (and 8.797 million the same week a year ago).

Last Saturday (May 3, 2025), the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced its intention to raise output next month by 411,000 barrels per day – bringing the total daily hike over the last three months to just shy of a million barrels. That will pump additional supply into a market already in surplus territory.

“This means road trippers would see lower prices at the pump this summer,” AAA noted in a release.

South Carolina’s gas prices are the fifth-lowest in the nation – with the average price of a gallon of unleaded fuel clocking in at $2.729. That’s also nearly half a dollar ($0.494) below last year’s reading.

Visually inclined? Our inimitable research director Jenn Wood has you covered…

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While those numbers look good for South Carolina, as FITSNews has repeatedly pointed out the Palmetto State’s income levels remain historically low. That means its residents typically wind up paying a much higher percentage of their earnings on fuel than residents of other states. According to 2022 data compiled by FinanceBuzz from multiple federal agencies, the average South Carolinian paid 4.82% of their monthly income on gasoline – the eighth-highest reading in the entire nation.

South Carolina’s “Republican” legislative majority imposed a 71.6% tax hike on gasoline beginning on July 1, 2017 and ending on July 1, 2022 – raising this levy from 16.75 cents per gallon to 28.75 cents per gallon over that time period. This massive increase was purportedly “opposed” by governor Henry McMaster – but the truth behind that two-step has been repeatedly exposed by this media outlet.

Has revenue from the tax hike resulted in a material improvements to the Palmetto State’s core infrastructure needs? No… and yet South Carolina’s results-challenged politicians (led by McMaster) keep funneling scarce infrastructure dollars toward crony capitalist giveaways.

Count on FITSNews to continue keeping tabs on key consumer data points like this – and holding leaders at all levels responsible for policies which impact those numbers.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.

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