Consumer News: TSA reports another record weekend, Midlands gas prices dip from last week and more!
CNN– Airports had yet another record filled weekend. The TSA says it screened more than two million people on both Friday and Sunday, the first time screenings were above the two million mark since the pandemic started in March 2020. The numbers will likely grow as Americans fly this summer to visit family or vacation, after getting vaccinated. Airlines say business travel has not recovered yet.
With more people traveling by air and by road, prices for new and used cars are soaring without signs of stopping anytime soon. Car dealer lots have only a fraction of the vehicles, both new and used, that they typically have. That’s helping send prices to record levels and lifting the nation’s overall inflation rate. According to JD Power, the average new car price hit a record in May, at more than $38,000. That’s up 12% from the same period a year ago, when many car dealerships were closed by the pandemic.
COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO)– One thing that’s not rising this week, gas prices. Right now, drivers in the Midlands are paying an average of $2.71 a gallon. That’s down 2.7 cents in the past week and nearly 12 cents lower than a month ago, according to GasBuddy. The cheapest gas in Columbia is priced at $2.47 a gallon, while the most expensive is $2.99. Nationwide, the average price per gallon stands at $3.07.
