November 23, 2009
Despite a weak economy, 38.4 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more away from home over the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday weekend, according to AAA. That's a 1.4 percent increase over last year.
Most of those travelers will be driving. The auto club estimates 33 million holiday travelers plan to travel by car, an increase of 2.1 percent.
This years expected increase in travel reflects improved confidence from one year ago, better financial market performance and a growing sense among many consumers that the worst of the global economic crisis is behind us, AAA said in a statement.
Those driving will find gas prices higher than last year, when prices were plunging in the midst of the economic meltdown. After falling three cents during the previous week to $2.63 a gallon this past Monday, pump prices only increased a penny by the end of the week. The average U.S. retail price for regular gasoline was $2.64 a gallon on Friday. It is mixed news for consumers.
Compared to the same week a year ago, the price of gasoline is 62 cents higher per gallon and four cents higher than prices one month ago. Crude oil began last week at $78.90 a barrel and by the closing bell on Friday, crude oil futures settled at $77.47 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a $1.43 loss on the week.The Energy Information Administrations (EIA) weekly report showed crude stocks fell 900,000 barrels to 336.8 million barrels, greater than the forecasted 300,000 barrel decline, yet far less than the 4.4 million barrel drawdown reported by the American Petroleum Institute (API). Gasoline supplies fell 1.7 million barrels to 209.1 million barrels, against a forecast for supplies to remain unchanged and bigger than APIs 1 million barrel drop.
