Amid Thanksgiving travel, gas prices creep up
Drivers sit in stand-still traffic in New Jersey. (Julio Cortez/AP Photo, file)
AAA estimates about 43.4 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
And it will cost more to make those trips.
After falling below $3 at some service stations in New Jersey earlier this month, gasoline prices are moving higher. The average price of a gallon of regular in the Garden State is now $3.17. Delaware drivers are paying an average of $3.32 while the average price in Pennsylvania is $3.36.
Pump prices will continue to edge higher before dropping again in December, said Tom Kloza, the chief oil analyst at GasBuddy.com.
“I think the low is probably not going to get below $3 in New Jersey and, nationally, I don’t think we’ll get there as well,” he said. “Unfortunately in the Northeast, one of the problems is we are a little bit dependent on imports, and European refineries are really struggling to stay afloat.”
The current price rise is the result of an increase in U.S. gasoline exports and some problems affecting production at refineries, Kloza said.
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