Gas prices drop ahead of holiday weekend
Published 12:33 pm Wednesday, November 23, 2022
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It’s historically unusual for gas prices to drop prior to a heavily-traveled holiday, but that’s exactly what’s going on according to GasBuddy.com, a crowdsourced website and mobile app that tracks gas prices around the nation.
Tuesday afternoon, the average price for regular gas was $3.35 per gallon. That’s down a penny from Monday, ten cents less than a week ago, and eight cents cheaper than a month ago. However, it remains above last year at this time, when the average price was $3.06 in Kentucky.
It’s a similar story across the United States, where Tuesday’s average was $3.63, continuing a slow downward slide–though a year ago, the nationwide average was $3.41.
The three-week decline has developed as oil has turned bearish, discounting inventory levels that remain tight, focusing instead on economic concerns and a continued flare-up in Covid cases in several major Chinese cities, GasBuddy reports. In addition, last week’s decision by President Biden to ask to shield Mohammed bin Salman may have been a sign of tensions easing between the kingdom and the U.S. and could invite additional oil supplies.
He said everyone will see relief at the pump this week, with more substantial declines in the coming weeks, as oil prices plummeted last week to under $80 per barrel.
De Hann added, “It’s not impossible that if oil markets hold here, we could see a national average of $2.99 around Christmas, certainly the gift that every motorist is hoping for. Drivers shouldn’t be in a rush to fill up as prices will come down nearly coast-to-coast into the heavily traveled Thanksgiving holiday.”
