(Bloomberg) — US gasoline prices have reached new highs for the last ten days. It is now the longest streak of consecutive records. According to AAA, travel levels are expected to reach levels before the pandemic.

Record-breaking gasoline prices have pushed the national average retail gasoline price up to $4.59 per gallon. The high cost of fuel will not end soon. AAA estimates that 39.2million people will travel to Memorial Day Weekend. This is an 8.3% increase over 2021 levels and close to 2017 levels. The additional pressure on fuel supply already low may be even greater. According to the report, around 3. million travelers will travel during this holiday weekend. That’s 7.7% more than 2019. 

The expectation of high travel volumes is a sign of more than 2 years of unmet demand. Also, while absolute oil prices remain high, the percentage of income spent on gasoline has been only slightly lower since 2015. Notably, the outlays have fallen below what they were when oil prices reached $100 per barrel. However, this is compounded with high prices for all other things — flights, hotels, and food — making it a very expensive summer regardless of whether they decide to travel.

“People are overdue for a vacation and they are looking to catch up on some much-needed R&R in the coming months,” said Paula Twidale, senior vice president of AAA travel.

Due to the strength of gasoline futures markets, high pump prices will likely continue. Even though futures weakened earlier in the week due to oil’s drop, they are expected to remain high short-term because gas station owners usually absorb losses from rising wholesale prices and then recoup their losses. In the longer term, a lack of means to substantially boost gasoline supply in the face of strong summer demand has led JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:) to forecast pump prices of $6.20 a gallon by August. 

Memorial Day falls on May 30, and is often considered to be the beginning of peak summer travel season. 

“Summer travel isn’t just heating up, it will be on fire,” Twidale said.

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.