and if you drill down even further, generally speaking, food prices have been on the decline, but anybody who commutes by car, myself included, or frequents gas stations knows that on a shorter term basis we have seen prices for gasoline moving higher. now, according to aaa, the current national average for a gallon of regular unleaded is $3.73, that s up from $3.58 a week ago, but still a lot lower than the $4.27 this same time last year. so, traders and investors have been reacting positively to that lower inflation read, markets are moving to the upside. there is slightly more comfort, jose, in knowing that inflation is cooling, while the economy still remains in modest growth so mode. so we ll see whether that jobs market can keep things going in the right direction, jose. dominic chu, thank you so very much. this morning, the lethal heat is taking its toll in arizona, prompting one county to have refrigerated containers
they re saying, okay, this is the president s energy secretary. what i want to know is, when will my gas prices come down? the energy information agency, which is the objective agency that does forecasting, in their june short-term energy outlook, they projected that in the third quarter the price of gas will average $4.27 a gallon. that is it s a forecast that is based on assumptions that could be completely up-ended with world events. for example, if the eu decides it, too, is going to fully ban russian oil, that will create an upward pressure on prices. if china does open up sooner than is predicted, that, too, will listen, far be it for me to say any firm date. i can just say what the experts are projecting. we know this is going to be a tough summer because driving
upward pressure on prices. what s he waiting for on the gas tax? part of the challenge with the gas tax is that it funds the roads. we just did a big infrastructure bill to fund the roads. if we remove the gas tax that takes away the funding just passed by congress to be able to do that. that s one of the challenges, but i m not saying that s off the table. that is, as prices continue to rise, it s certainly something the administration is considering, just like i know governors across the country are considering that. when people are watching, they re saying, okay, this is the president s energy secretary. what i want to know is, when will my gas prices come down? the energy information agency, which is the objective agency that does forecasting, in their june short-term energy outlook, they projected that in the third quarter the price of gas will average $4.27 a gallon. that is it s a forecast that is based on assumptions that could be completely up-ended with world events
that the gas pump. let s look at where we are right now with the gas prices today. all the way up to 3.27 4 $4.27. up $0.17 from a week ago. and, of course, it reached a record high back in march when we were talking about how high it was then. we ve already passed that. pete, you re out there talking to drivers and seeing it for yourself firsthand how it s impacting everyday americans. what are you hearing? reporter: right now drivers really just want relief, because the prices are rising so rapidly. 4:39 at this marathon. earlier today it was 4.15. we ve seen a huge increase in the span of one day. we have already exceeded the national average here. think about where we were a week ago. the national average according to aaa, 4 .20. a year ago it was sub $3.
charges. it s unclear when are the justice department will pursue that. zach cohen, thanks for joining us, terrific reporting by you and our colleagues. zach, thank you. so, i know that you are very aware of how painful it is to buy just about anything these days, here in the u.s. everything feels like it s gone up. that is particularly painful for you if you re trying to buy a home, right? mortgage rates stayed low during the pandemic. recent action by the federal reserve to control inflation is what s pushing those rates higher. and now, rates for a 30-year mortgage, at 5% for the first time since 2010. that s up from 4.27% just the previous week. a year ago, the average was just over 3%. that s what hits it hard, right? rising rates are going to make it impossible for a lot of people to buy a house. that year-to-year increase in mortgage rates added more than $300 to the average monthly