By Blake Haas
BLOOMINGTON – As prices at the pump continue to decrease, a recent report details the lack of travel this Thanksgiving holiday.
According to a new study by GasBuddy, only 32% of Americans plan to travel for Thanksgiving this year, a decline from 35% last year compared to some 65% that planned to hit the road for Thanksgiving in 2019.
“I think there have been a lot of motorists that have been frustrated over the rise in gas prices,” Patrick DeHaan, Head of Petroleum Analysis at GasBuddy, told WJBC News. “In fact, this Thanksgiving holiday, gas prices are likely to be just a few prices away from the highest they have ever been on a Thanksgiving before.
Prices are starting to inch down just slightly. But still, the national average at $3.40 a gallon is just four cents away from reaching the highest level, which occurred back in 2012, over the holiday when the national average was $3.40 a gallon.”
GasBuddy’s recent study also detailed how 75% of Americans also say that COVID-19 has had no impact on their holiday plans this year.
In other business, DeHaan said prices at the pump would drop over the holiday season as the price per barrel of oil drops.
“As a result of a drop in oil, I think we will see gas prices coming down within the next one to two weeks. Now, beyond that, it gets a little conscious in whether that trend will continue. And that’s happening because of conflict between the U.S. and its allies and releasing oil from its strategic reserves.”
On Monday, the average price per gallon at the pump stood at $3.51.
Blake Haas can be reached at [email protected].
