Officials: Traveling should be cheaper this Thanksgiving

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - It is a little cheaper to fill up this Thanksgiving holiday compared to last year. According to AAA Mid-Atlantic statistics, the average price of a gallon of self-serve gas is $2.18 — 5 cents lower than the national average. The cost of filling a 15-gallon gas tank is less than $33, compared to nearly $36 last Thanksgiving.

“It has really slowed down in the last week and that is good for the consumers,” said John Townsend, a spokesman for AAA Mid-Atlantic, Tuesday. Townsend said that if those traveling for Thanksgiving are able, they should fill their tanks outside of the metropolitan region, since gas prices will be cheaper. Imports of crude oil and ethanol and production dropped before Election Day on Nov. 7 and peak demand had fallen off, causing gas prices to drop, said John Felmy, chief economist and director of statistics for the American Petroleum Institute. Crude oil prices have been on the rise since then, creeping up by 12 cents a gallon, but gas prices have stabilized, he said.

“Crude prices are jumping again today because of Alaskan shipping slowing down because of bad weather ... typically there is a lag between crude oil changes and gas prices,” Felmy said.

cgoodman@dcexaminer.com

Advertisement