The retail price of gasoline rose on Friday ahead of the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

Consumers are now paying 3 cents more per gallon following the rise overnight to $2.391 according to auto club AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service.

The encouraging news is that, just for the Memorial Day weekend, motorists will be paying substantially less,” Dan Ronan, AAA spokesman, said in a statement. “Last year, the total bill for gasoline for Memorial Day was an estimated $6 billion. This year it will be about $3.7 billion.”

Gas is 32.9 cents a gallon more expensive than last month, but it's still $1.44 a gallon cheaper than a year ago when fears of an oil shortage sent energy prices soaring.

In the lower-48 states, gas prices ranged from an average of $2.20 a gallon in Arizona to $2.62 a gallon in California. Gas in Florida cost an average of $2.40 a gallon, while in Nevada it cost average $2.36 a gallon to fill up.

About 32.4 million people will venture at least 50 miles (80 kilometers) from home, AAA said. Eighty-three percent of those will go by automobile.

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