Massachusetts gas prices stay at record-high level, gas demand dips amid costly pump prices

At least the elevated gas prices didn’t spike any higher over Memorial Day weekend.

The plateau in the last week comes after pump prices had been rising at a rapid rate every week. The Bay State’s average gas price for regular remains at the record-high level of $4.73 per gallon.

The price is 54 cents higher than a month ago ($4.19), and $1.81 higher than last May 31 ($2.92). Pump prices skyrocketed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Massachusetts’ average gas price is 11 cents higher than the national average.

“Prices didn’t go up over last week, so we can try to see a positive in that they’re not going up at the moment,” said Mark Schieldrop of AAA Northeast. “We’re still looking at really high prices, however.”

A drop in gas demand helped lead to the stable prices at the pump, as demand was lower than expected ahead of the busy Memorial Day weekend. That’s a sign that drivers are cutting back because of the record-high prices.

Two out of every three drivers (67%) recently surveyed by AAA said they would change their driving habits if gas hit $4.50 a gallon. That number rises to 75% at $5 a gallon — a high price that has been seen at gas stations around the Boston area in recent weeks.

“Demand is the one thing that could change things,” Schieldrop said. “It will take us a few weeks to see if people are starting to change their behavior or not with these high prices.

“People are talking about these high prices everywhere you go,” he added. “It’s definitely taking a toll on the consumer.”

While lower demand could help drive down prices, crude oil is not heading in a friendly direction. Crude oil has moved above $115 a barrel because of fears of further global supply constraints caused by a European Union ban on Russian oil exports.

“If oil eases a bit back down to $100 a barrel, then expect prices to tick down,” Schieldrop said. “Not below $4 a gallon, but hopefully we get close to that.”