The rise in oil prices has surpassed COVID-19 and has become the biggest obstacle to this Thanksgiving holiday.
According to an annual survey conducted by GasBuddy, a website that tracks gasoline prices, last year, 46% of drivers said that COVID-19 had affected their Thanksgiving travel plans. However, this year only 25% of drivers said that the ongoing pandemic will affect their Thanksgiving travel plans.
In contrast, 51% of the drivers surveyed by GasBuddy this year said that they would not drive on Thanksgiving due to high gasoline prices.
According to the website, only 35% of people drove during the Thanksgiving holiday last year. This year, this proportion is expected to drop to 32%, and most respondents said the pump will be painful.
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In 2019, the year before the pandemic broke out, the site’s survey found that 65% of drivers planned to travel on Thanksgiving.
Approximately 50% of American drivers said they drove less overall this year. When asked what would encourage them to drive more, 78% said that gasoline prices are lower.
According to GasBuddy, by Thanksgiving, the national average price of gasoline per gallon is expected to be $3.35. The price is $1.24 higher than the national average price of $2.11 during Thanksgiving last year.
If the cost of oil increases before the holiday, it is entirely possible that natural gas prices will rise further, raising the national average price to the highest point during the Thanksgiving holiday period, since the price of $3.44 per gallon during Thanksgiving in 2012.
Economists believe that there are two main reasons for the rise in natural gas prices. Due to the decline in U.S. production, the supply of natural gas has been restricted. In addition, other major oil exporting countries have only moderately increased their natural gas production.
Democratic president Joe Biden Is facing increasing pressure to help reduce natural gas prices, but His options are limited. Oil exporting countries refuse to increase production to meet US demand.
Gasoline data company Platts Analytics said that Biden may approve the sale of oil in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve, but for the rest of this year, natural gas prices will remain above $3 per gallon.
on Wednesday, Biden calls for investigation Does the “anti-consumer behavior of oil and gas companies” lead to price increases?
