Whatever the traffic jams, sibling hostility and arguments over where to stop, Americans hitting the road this week can at least look forward to lower gas prices.
Prices in Georgia will still be higher than last year, but drivers can find gas for less than $2 a gallon at one of every six stations in the state, according to AAA.
“Gas prices should push even lower through the holiday weekend, unless crude oil prices suddenly surge,” AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins said.
Georgia prices average about $2.12 a gallon. At this time last year, the state average was $2.04 a gallon, but two years ago, a gallon averaged $2.77 in Georgia.
Nationally, gas averages $2.14 a gallon now, compared with $2.10 a gallon last year and $2.85 two years ago.
An estimated 43.5 million people — more than one in eight Americans — will be driving somewhere for Thanksgiving. More than half expect to be on the road for at least four hours and one of five driving more than 10, according to a survey by GasBuddy.
Demand for gasoline is generally what economists call “inelastic.” That is, gas is a necessity that people will buy regardless of price. And even when it comes to vacations, nothing but a shortage will keep many people from traveling.
Alison Ilg of Marietta, for example, said her family spends a week each summer on Cape Hatteras and the price of gasoline is not really a consideration. “That is our family trip.”
Not that she doesn’t try to save when she can. At home, she fills up her four-year-old Toyota SUV every week or week and a half, she said. “And when gas prices were high, I did try to consolidate meetings and errands and appointments.”
Economists often compare lower gas prices to a tax break, with the savings dropping directly into consumer pockets. The longer the prices stay low, the better for individual consumer outlook – and for their spending on other items.
Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst at GasBuddy, said the overall savings also mount as an economic factor.
“Over the Thanksgiving travel period, Wednesday … to Sunday, motorists will be collectively spending nearly $1.7 billion less at the gas pump than the five-year average,” he said.
The main ingredient in gas prices is the price of oil. And so, gas prices in general have been on the decline for several years, thanks to weak demand and a worldwide glut of crude oil – a glut mostly attributed to a boost in U.S. production.
But gasoline prices in the short-term sometimes rise or fall because of more local factors.
Prices in Atlanta spiked in September, hitting an average high of $2.51 a gallon after a fire shut down one of the key pipelines bringing gasoline from the refineries along the Gulf Coast, according to GasBuddy.
Following a second, shorter shutdown of the same line earlier this month, the pipelines are now pumping and the refineries along the coast have finished their seasonal retrofitting and are sending them plenty of gasoline. Moreover, general demand for gas tends to be weak as the weather gets cooler and gas prices usually fall along with the mercury.
The nation’s cheapest gasoline right now is in Oklahoma, which averages $1.85 a gallon, according to AAA. Among the lower 48 states, California is the most costly, averaging $2.70 a gallon.
PUMP PRICES
Georgia
Sunday, $2.12
Year ago, $2.04
Two years ago, $2.77
U.S.
Sunday, $2.14
Year ago, $2.10
Two years ago, $2.85
Source: AAA — The Auto Club Group
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