Gas prices hit 3-year high for holiday travel
But Palm Beach County’s average has dropped 4 cents in the past week.
Millions of Americans are ready to hit the road for holiday travel, and the steepest Thanksgiving fuel prices in three years aren’t likely to deter them.
The good news for local motorists, AAA said Monday, is that Palm Beach County’s average gasoline price has dropped 4 cents in the past week, and further declines are expected during Thanksgiving weekend.
The county’s average for a gallon of regular stood at $2.59 a gallon Monday, while the state average was $2.49, down from $2.52 a week ago, according to AAA’s Fuel Gauge Report.
“Gas prices should decline 5 to 10 cents through Thanksgiving weekend,” said AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins. “Although gasoline demand will be high this week, it will be cheaper for gas stations to purchase their fuel than a week ago. Since retailers profit more off of concessions in their convenience stores than the sale of gasoline, they will be more likely to lower gas prices as a way to attract passing motorists.”
Still, the 45.5 million Americans who hit the road this Thanksgiving will find the most expensive gas prices since Thanksgiving 2014, AAA said. The average for regular gasoline in Florida is 40 cents more than on Thanksgiving Day last year.
Jenkins offered motorists a tip on ways to find lower prices.
“Some of the lowest prices will be in areas where multiple gas stations are within close prox-
imit y of each other, leading to higher competition,” Jenkins said. “Oftentimes gas stations wait until Friday to lower their prices, in hopes that managers at rival stations are not paying attention, or gone for the weekend. Some of the highest prices are often at gas stations in rural areas, near airports, and at interstate on/off ramps.”
This past week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a weekly increase in crude and gasoline inventories, and growth in domestic oil production. This allowed oil prices to weaken from their two-year highs, and wholesale gasoline prices to drop nearly 10 cents.
Oil prices remain a major influencer of prices at the pump. The EIA estimates that half the price of gasoline is steered by oil prices.
Year-over-year figures illustrate that point. This past Thanksgiving, when motorists paid 30-40 cents less for gasoline, the price of oil was $10 a barrel cheaper. Earlier this month when gas prices jumped, the price of oil had just climbed nearly $6.
Analysts at Oil Price Information Service expect oil prices to trend lower through the rest of the year and early 2018, as demand drops during the winter. That would help drag gas prices lower too. Conversely, oil prices could face upward pressure depending on the outcome of an OPEC meeting later this month, where oil producing countries will decide whether to extend an agreement to cut production in an effort to reduce global oversupply and raise prices.
Gas Buddy projects the national average gas price this Thanksgiving will be $2.53 a gallon, the pri ciest Thanksgiving in three years (2014: $2.79), though not as high as the peak on Thanksgiving in 2012 ($3.44). Additionally, average gas prices have risen 9 cents in the past month, the largest pre-Thanksgiving Day increase since 2007, when average prices rose 26 cents in the 30 days leading up to the holiday.
“This year has been unique at the pumps. Gas prices spent much of the time in the weeks approaching Thanksgiving by rising when typically, they would be on a sizable downward trend,” said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.
“On average Americans are paying nearly 40 cents a gallon more than last year, which means collectively we’re spending $800 million more on fuel over the Thanksgiving travel period,” DeHaan said. “Drivers should pay close attention to prices to avoid overpaying.”