Here’s what gas prices to expect for holiday travel ahead of Thanksgiving

GREENVILLE, N.C. (WITN) – With the holidays just around the corner and Thanksgiving in a week, AAA is expecting that over 115-million Americans will be hitting the road to travel.

As people are gearing up for their travel plans, Patrick De Haan, GasBuddy’s Head of Petroleum Analysis, says Santa came early for drivers this year!

De Haan says though many people think gas prices will increase this time of year due to more travelers on the road, that’s actually not the case.

In the cooler months, he says Americans tend to drive less and less—which translates to less of a demand and therefore, lower gas prices.

However, as many Americans hit the road for Thanksgiving, De Haan told WITN that collectively, the price of gas goes down during holiday weeks like Thanksgiving as people may travel on the same day but stay put for the actual holiday and days after.

AAA reports that in the spring months, energy companies conduct maintenance on their refineries, shutting them down and limiting capacity until late May. Because of this, oil supplies can become stretched.

In addition, natural disasters, like hurricanes, can increase prices by disrupting transport routes and damaging refineries and other infrastructure.

As we round out a very active hurricane season and head into the holidays, De Haan says this year’s gas prices compared to previous years are down. “We did see a small increase in Greenville’s prices this week. The price is up about 2 cents a gallon. Not a huge jump, gas prices still below the $3 gallon mark at about $2.87. That’s still about 15 cents a gallon lower than they were last year so as we get closer to Thanksgiving, certainly some good news that prices are lower than last year. The national average is also a lot lower than it’s really been in about 3 years at $3.02 a gallon—meaning that gas prices are still below the national average, and we expect that to continue.”

According to AAA, the gasoline sold during the summer is actually different and more expensive to produce than that sold in the winter.

That’s because twice a year in the U.S., the fuel supply changes. It’s known as the seasonal gasoline transition. This change is the biggest reason for the price hike in summer gasoline.

Depending on the time of year, gas stations switch between providing summer-grade fuel and winter-grade fuel, according to AAA.

To find the cheapest gas near you to fuel up before hitting the road, check out GasBuddy.

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