Hitting the road for Thanksgiving? Here’s what you can expect to pay at gas pump

If you are among the 2.3 million Floridians expected to hit the road this week for Thanksgiving, you will find the most expensive gas prices for the holiday since 2014.

One reason to be thankful: Prices are falling and “should decline 5-10 cents through Thanksgiving weekend,” AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins said.

Still, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded in the Bradenton-Sarasota region on Monday was $2.47, a jump of 43 cents from Thanksgiving week 2016.

“Although gasoline demand will be high this week, it will be cheaper for gas stations to purchase their fuel than a week ago,” Jenkins said. “Some of the lowest prices will be in areas where multiple gas stations are within close proximity of each other, leading to higher competition.”

The average in the Manatee-Sarasota region remains lower than the state ($2.49) and national ($2.54) averages.

The recent unseasonable spike in gas prices – attributed to rising oil costs and demand being at its highest point in the United States since 2006 – resulted in the largest pre-Thanksgiving Day increase since 2007, when average prices rose 26 cents in the 30 days leading up to the holiday.

GasBuddy, which track fuel pricing, projects the national average this Thanksgiving will be $2.53 per gallon, the most-expensive since motorists were paying $2.79 in 2014.

“Gas prices spent much of the time in the weeks approaching Thanksgiving by rising when typically, they would be on a sizeable downward trend,” said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.

“On average, Americans are paying nearly 40 cents a gallon more than last year, which means collectively we’re spending $800 million more on fuel over the Thanksgiving travel period.”

This story was originally published November 20, 2017 at 8:17 AM with the headline "Hitting the road for Thanksgiving? Here’s what you can expect to pay at gas pump."