100M-Plus Holiday Travelers Will Hit the Road as Gas Prices Dip
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Gas prices are dropping just as millions of motorists prepare to travel for the holidays.
According to AAA, the national average pump price decreased 12 cents since last week to $3.14 — 54 cents less than a month ago and 16 cents less than a year ago.
There are now about 20 states with averages below $3 per gallon.
"The cost of oil, gasoline's main ingredient, has been hovering in the low-to-mid $70s per barrel, and that's $50 less than the peak last spring," said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson. "Combined with low seasonal demand, gas prices could slide a bit more before leveling off."
Data from the Energy Information Administration shows gas demand decreased slightly from 8.36 to 8.26 million barrels per day last week. This coincides with the arrival of the winter driving season when fewer people travel due to shorter days and winter weather.
Total domestic gasoline stocks rose significantly by 4.5 million barrels to 223.6 million barrels. The combination of increasing supply and lower gasoline demand are pushing pump prices lower, AAA said.
The nation's top 10 largest weekly decreases are Nevada (20 cents), Indiana (19 cents), Michigan (17 cents), Arizona (17 cents), Ohio (16 cents), Washington (16 cents), Delaware (16 cents), Illinois (15 cents), California (15 cents) and Oregon (15 cents).
The nation's top 10 least expensive markets are Texas ($2.62), Oklahoma ($2.64), Arkansas ($2.69), Missouri ($2.71), Mississippi ($2.74), Tennessee ($2.75), Wisconsin ($2.75), Louisiana ($2.76), Georgia ($2.77) and Kansas ($2.78).
The decrease at the pump comes as nearly 102 million Americans will drive to their holiday destinations, or an additional 2 million drivers compared to 2021. Travel by car this year is on par with 2018 but shy of 2019 when 108 million Americans drove out of town for the holidays, the highest year on record, according to AAA.
In all, AAA estimates 112.7 million people will journey 50 miles or more away from home from Dec. 23 to Jan. 2. That's an increase of 3.6 million people over last year and closing in on pre-pandemic numbers. This year is expected to be the third busiest year for holiday travel since AAA began tracking in 2000.
"This year, travel time will be extended due to Christmas Day and New Year's Day falling on Sundays," said AAA's Senior Vice President of Travel Paula Twidale. "With hybrid work schedules, we are seeing more people take long weekends to travel because they can work remotely at their destination and be more flexible with the days they depart and return."
As for air travel, the association estimates nearly 7.2 million Americans will fly — a 14 percent increase over last year and just below the 7.3 million who traveled by air for the holidays in 2019.
