10
Loading video...
By Joe Edwards
Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Motorists heading out for Thanksgiving could see some relief at the pump, with one prominent fuel analyst expecting costs to decline further by the holiday.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at fuel-price tracking platform GasBuddy, said in a Wednesday social media post that GasBuddy projects the national average gas price on Thanksgiving to be $3.59 to $3.69 per gallon and diesel prices to be $5.85 to $5.95 per gallon. He added that prices were “falling slightly faster than anticipated.” At the time of his post, prices for gas and diesel were $3.89 and $6.09, respectively, De Haan said.
Fuel prices will matter for the millions of Americans likely to travel during the upcoming holiday period, which is known as one of the busiest travel weeks in the U.S.
Read More on News
De Haan also said on Wednesday that GasBuddy noted 32 states with gas prices lower than $4 per gallon—a figure he said could rise to 35 if New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire are able to join the list on Thursday. The analyst previously indicated that number could reach 44 by Thanksgiving.
Newsweek contacted GasBuddy for comment on Thursday.
...
Meanwhile, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the statistical agency of the Department of Energy, released its short-term energy outlook on Tuesday. While the agency said it expects the average retail price of gasoline and diesel in the U.S. to fall in 2027, it said it had raised its forecast for the prices compared to its October outlook.
“In our forecast, the U.S. retail diesel price averages $5.03 per gallon (gal) next year, 12 percent higher than we forecast last month. Gasoline prices average $3.73/gal, 5 percent higher than last month,” the EIA said.
It added: “We now assume global petroleum product markets will face continued supply constraints through the end of 2027.”
Fall in Prices Shouldn’t Be Tied to Midterms: Analyst
De Haan said earlier this week that “prices are falling and some people are already crediting (or blaming) the midterms. Here’s what’s actually going on: it’s fall, and prices tend to drop in the fall.”
He said in a series of posts on X: “The biggest factor is the switch to winter gasoline. after Sept 15, stations can sell winter blend, which is cheaper to make. summer gas has to meet tighter evaporation rules, and that costs refiners more.” He added that demand also drops following the end of the summer driving season and colder temperatures mean fewer Americans seek to travel.
Other factors cited by the analyst included an increased flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz. However, he told Newsweek previously that gas “won’t return to prewar levels until there’s months and months of de facto oil shipments and no escalations, attacks, etc. or a deal with Iran.”
De Haan added on X: “Nobody who won last week has had anything to do with what you’re paying today.”
Average Gas Price Nationally and by State
As of Thursday morning, the national average gas price in the U.S. stood at $3.9081 per gallon of regular, down from $4.1003 a week ago and down further still from $4.3556 last month, according to American Automobile Association (AAA) data. Average prices were still up from a year ago, however, when they stood at $3.0752 per gallon.
California and Hawaii both had average prices above $5 per gallon, according to AAA’s figures, with $5.6349 and $5.6362, respectively.
Prices were also above the national average in the following states on Thursday:
- Washington ($4.9068)
- Oregon ($4.5398)
- Nevada ($4.9676)
- Alaska ($4.5075)
- Utah ($4.2265)
- Idaho ($4.1838)
- Wyoming ($4.0334)
- Illinois ($4.3292)
- West Virginia ($3.9700)
- Pennsylvania ($4.2926)
- New Jersey ($3.9954)
- New York ($4.1894)
- Connecticut ($4.0743)
- Rhode Island ($3.9186)
- Massachusetts ($4.0213)
- Vermont ($4.1999)
- New Hampshire ($4.0221)
- Maine ($4.0910)
Among the states where drivers were paying the lowest at the pump were Texas ($3.3869), Oklahoma ($3.4948), Arkansas ($3.5560), Louisiana ($3.4991), Tennessee ($3.5177), Mississippi ($3.5995), Alabama ($3.5457), Georgia ($3.4067), North Carolina ($3.1831), South Carolina ($3.4556) and Indiana ($3.4750).
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Tobias Meyjes and Emma Lee-Sang
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines