The more than 100 million people expected to travel at least 50 miles from their home during the holidays should save about $1.6 billion at the pump as gas prices fall to about $2 a gallon.
As Bloomberg reports, gasoline price-tracker GasBuddy says the average nationwide price of gas dropped to $1.99 on Sunday before jumping slightly to $2.01 today. The price Sunday marked the lowest figure in six years.
“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…in 2008!” Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst at GasBuddy, says in an emailed statement to Bloomberg. “There has not been a better time in years for motorists to extend their trips and travel farther, as sub-$2 per gallon gas can be found at almost 70 percent of stations in the country.”
The gas price drop can be partly attributed to the dropping price of West Texas Intermediate crude, which has dropped 66% in 18 months. That has boosted refiners’ profit margins, encouraging them to produce record amounts of fuel. Prices are poised to remain depressed into next year after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries refused to limit its output.
GasBuddy reports that according to a holiday survey, 88% of respondents say they will travel via car this holiday season, with 66% of those respondents saying they expect to travel more than 200 miles round-trip.
Bloomberg has the full story.
