Happy Thanksgiving, Gasoline Prices Drop Ahead of Busy Holiday Travel Week
NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) — AAA Texas, the statewide gas price average in Texas is $3.03 a gallon for regular unleaded. That price is four cents less than on this day last week and $1.23 more compared to this time last year.
Of the major metropolitan areas surveyed, drivers in El Paso are paying the most on average at $3.22 per gallon while drivers in Amarillo are paying the least at $2.87 per gallon.
Drivers topping off their tanks in Dallas will pay an average $3.08 a gallon for unleaded. And folks in Arlington and Fort Worth will save a penny, since the average price in those cities is $3.07.
The national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded is $3.41.
AAA Texas anticipates near pre-pandemic levels of travel during the Thanksgiving holiday. Millions of drivers across Texas will be paying up to $1.25 more for a gallon of gas than they would have if they traveled for Thanksgiving in 2020.
For the first time in months oil prices started to slip below $80 a barrel in recent days. On Thursday, the price of crude fell to six-week lows after the Biden administration requested that China, Japan and South Korea release their strategic oil reserves.
"Texas drivers can be thankful that retail gas prices are starting to drop, but we won't see anything close to the prices from Thanksgiving 2020," said AAA Texas spokesperson Daniel Armbruster.
While gas prices will be much more expensive than last year, the higher prices are not expected to deter holiday travelers. AAA predicts an estimated 3.6 million Texans will drive 50 miles or more to their Thanksgiving destination.