Retail gas prices just below Thanksgiving record price in pennies: report

So far, we’re expecting a “relief as motorists hit the road for Thanksgiving,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told MarketWatch. “The national average is fluctuating a bit – fell last week but rose slightly again.”

Given this week’s loss in oil, De Haan expects gasoline prices to “fall further in the next week or two,” possibly a few cents per gallon “give or take.”

Oil futures are poised to post losses this week, pressured by talk of a possible release of oil from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Meanwhile, when asked at a news conference Thursday about discussions with other countries regarding the joint release of oil reserves, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said members of the group The Biden administration’s national security has been in discussions with a range of countries, including China, about the need to meet supply needs.

On Thursday, US Standard West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil
CLZ21,
+0.65%

CL.1,
+0.65%

traded at $79.01 a barrel, up 0.8% on the session, after losing about 3% to $78.36 on Wednesday, the lowest pre-month close since Oct. according to Dow Jones Market Data.

Despite the recent drop in oil, gasoline prices will still be near their Thanksgiving highs, based on data from 2000, De Haan said.

Gas prices were just below the national average of $3.44 per gallon on Thanksgiving 2012, marking a record high for that holiday.

With the expectation that oil prices will fall, “we shouldn’t hit a new record” for gasoline, he said. “In recent years, prices have become a bit more affordable.”

Gasoline prices at Thanksgiving last year averaged just $2.11, and GasBuddy predicts Thanksgiving prices this year at $3.35.

“With discussion of an SPR release underway, we may see some relief as we head into December, but that could change with a lot of headlines likely to lead to oil later in the year. ,” said De Haan. San Francisco, a city that has recorded the highest average prices in the United Statesand California “continue to push higher, but that will soon be back down again.”

Regular gas prices in California averaged $4,686 a gallon on Thursday, with San Francisco’s median price of $4,863, GasBuddy data showed.

However, thanks in part to high gas prices, Americans plan to travel less this Thanksgiving weekend than they did last year, according to a recent survey conducted by GasBuddy. The survey found that 32% of Americans plan to travel over Thanksgiving weekend, down from 35% last year. About 65% are already planning to hit the road for the 2019 holiday.

According to GasBuddy, 50% of Americans said they drove less this year, and when asked what would make them drive more, 78% said gas prices were lower.