The price of gasoline on Monday morning is down 2.2 cents compared with last week’s pump price for a gallon of regular gasoline. Compared with the same day last year, prices are nearly a nickel higher.
By Thanksgiving Day, the price of a gallon of gas is expected to drop further to $2.11, the third lowest level in more than 10 years according to FuelInsights.gasbuddy.com.
Senior petroleum analyst at Gasbuddy, Patrick DeHaan, said:
Over the Thanksgiving travel period, Wednesday, Nov. 23, to Sunday, Nov. 27, motorists will be collectively spending nearly $1.7 billion less at the gas pump than the five-year average. This year will go down as the first in over a decade that no state – not even traditionally pricey Hawaii or California – has seen its average daily price breach $3 per gallon. We can thank global oil production that continues to outpace rising demand for the low prices.
GasBuddy estimates that 52% of auto travelers this year will be on the road for at least 4 hours and that 20% will be driving more than 10 hours. That means travelers are taking longer trips and that they plan to stop less often. When they do, the top deciding factors are the price of gasoline and the location of the gas station.
Monday’s most common price for a gallon of regular gas in the U.S. is $1.999, flat with a year ago and with last week.
There are no U.S. gas stations charging more than $4.00 a gallon for gas and just 0.1% charging between $3.50 and $4 a gallon. No gas station is charging less than $1.50 a gallon and more than 90% are charging between $1.75 and $2.50 a gallon.
The five states where average gasoline prices were cheapest were Oklahoma ($1.806), Kansas ($1.89), Arkansas ($1.894), Missouri ($1.897), and Texas ($1.912). Seven other states posted average prices below $2.00 a gallon: Mississippi, South Carolina, Alabama, Minnesota, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Virginia.
The five states posting the highest averages were Hawaii ($2.866), California ($2.694), Washington ($2.623), Alaska ($2.577), and Nevada ($2.467).
Crude oil prices are up more than 2.5% Monday morning as traders are betting on an agreement on production cuts at next week’s OPEC meeting. WTI crude oil for December delivery traded up nearly 2.7% at $46.91 after closing at $45.69 on Friday. The December contract closes out today and the January contract becomes the front month. WTI for January delivery traded up about 2.6% at $47.56 early Monday morning.
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