Gas Prices Threaten Thanksgiving Holiday Record
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Average retail gas prices threaten to break a record as the busy Thanksgiving driving holiday approaches, and matters don’t look to improve much for Christmas or the beginning of the new year, warns an analyst with the website OhioGasPrices.com.
In Ohio, the average retail price has fallen 2.8 cents per gallon over the past week, averaging $3.44 per gallon Sunday. Still, the average price is 21.6 cents higher than the same day a year ago and is up 3.9 cents from a month ago
Nationally, average per-gallon gas prices have decreased slightly more, by 3.2 cents per gallon in the last week, to $3.42 per gallon. The national average has decreased 26.4 cents per gallon during the last month and is 6.5 cents per gallon higher than a year ago.
"With Thanksgiving just days away, Americans will be hitting major thoroughfares en masse. While gasoline prices have dropped in the last month and a half, the national average will still come close to breaking a record -- the highest ever national average for Thanksgiving," said Patrick DeHaan GasBuddy.com senior petroleum analyst.
"I don't really see how gas prices could greatly improve between now and Christmas, given the new military action in the Middle East, and other pressures. It's all but certain the national average will not drop under $3.25 per gallon, which could lead to a perilous start to 2013," DeHaan said.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio