Labor Day gasoline prices the lowest in 12 years

Americans driving on Labor Day weekend will pay the lowest price for gasoline over the holiday in more than a decade. 

The average retail price of gasoline was $2.24 a gallon on Monday, the Energy information Administration reported on Friday. That’s the lowest price for a gallon of gas on the Monday before Labor Day since 2004, and $0.27 cheaper than gasoline this year, EIA said. 

{mosads}According to travel group AAA, the average price of regular gasoline was $2.22 a gallon on Friday, or $0.22 less than one year ago.

EIA, a federal energy research agency, attributed the decline in gasoline prices to persistent low crude oil prices, which itself is fueled by high global supply and increased drilling in the United States. 

The average price of gasoline in the United States has increased $0.51 per gallon since it hit a record low in February, EIA said. That increase has been driven by higher crude prices and increased gasoline demand over the summer. 

Americans traditionally drive more during the summer, but gasoline use hit a record this year. Americans used more than 405 million gallons of gas a day in June, according to a Friday report from National Public Radio. That’s the highest level since record-keeping began in 1946.   

That figure broke a record set in 2007, but analysts told NPR that gasoline consumption should decline as vehicles become more fuel efficient.