Gasoline up, but the road beckons

Gasoline prices are at their highest level in three years as the nation heads into the long Thanksgiving weekend, but the number of Americans taking to the highways for the holiday is expected to surge.

GasBuddy, a website that tracks fuel prices nationwide, estimated that, compared to last year, 20 percent more drivers will be on the road through Sunday. That would make it the busiest Thanksgiving break in more than a decade.

Auto club AAA estimated nearly 50 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home over the next several days.

Nationally, fuel prices are expected to average nearly 40 cents a gallon more than Thanksgiving 2015, when the oil bust pushed prices down to an average of $2.05 cents a gallon, according to GasBud-

dy. Gasoline is projected to average $2.53 a gallon this year.

In the Houston area, gasoline is averaging $2.22 a gallon, up from $1.83 in 2015.

Gasoline prices are higher because of rising crude oil prices, which have climbed in recent weeks amid reports of increased demand, continued output cuts by OPEC and a power struggle in Saudi Arabia’s royal family. Two years ago, oil was careening toward a Februrary 2016 low of $26 a barrel; crude settled at $56.09 a barrel in New York Monday, down 46 cents.

Crude prices have retreated from recent highs above $57 a barrel, which may give drivers a bit of a break this week. Average gasoline prices locally and nationwide dipped nearly 2 cents in the past week. They could slip another cent or two over the next several days, according to GasBuddy analysts.

Still, Americans are projected to spend some $800 million more on fuel than they did a year ago over the Thanksgiving break. But higher costs don’t appear to be discouraging drivers.

October saw the strongest gasoline demand for the month since 2006, the U.S. Energy Department said. The busy roads are indicative of unseasonably warmer weather throughout much of the country. That trend has continued for much of November.

Fuel costs in Houston and throughout the nation have remained higher since Hurricane Harvey struck the Texas Gulf Coast in August. The storm knocked out nearly a quarter of the nation’s oil refining capacity, causing gasoline costs to surge nearly 20 percent.

Nearly all of that refining capacity is back online now. The average cost of a gallon of gasoline in the Houston area, however, is still 11 cents higher than before Harvey, while the national average is 21 cents above its pre-storms average.