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Grinch Lurks at Holiday Gas Pumps

Holiday prices this year are the highest ever

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com

December 22, 2007

• Labor Day Gas Prices Up a Penny • Gas Prices Fall for 37 Days • Gas Prices Slide 8 Percent from Record • Gas Prices Creep Down • Oil Price Trend May Be Good News For Consumers • Gasoline Drops Below $3.90 a Gallon • Gas Prices Pull Back Slowly • Oil Prices Fall As Storm Misses Rigs • Latest Gas Price Round-Up • 'Run Your Car On Water' Scheme Could Leave Consumers All Wet • Unregulated Energy Trading Blamed for Much of Gas Price Gusher • Airlines Join Effort To Limit Oil Speculators • Questions Raised about MyGallons.com • 'Hypermiling' Is Dangerous, Says AAA • Struggling Drivers Blame Washington for High Gas Prices • What’s Really Fueling Those Sky-High Oil Prices • Credit Card Fees at the Pump are a 'Hidden Tax' on Consumers • Survey: 3 Out of 4 Angry About High Gas Prices • $2 A Gallon Gas Possible, Analysts Tell Congress • Speculators Buy More Oil Contracts Than Oil Companies • Saudis to Pump More Oil • Limiting Oil Speculators Gains Ground • Congress To Probe Oil Price Spike • Oil Market 'Saturated,' Iran Claims • Feds See No Relief from High Gas Prices • High Gas Prices Could Mean Lower Insurance Rates • High Gas Prices Good For Kia, Honda • Gas Prices Rip Past $4 and Keep Climbing • Administration, OPEC See Different Causes Of Oil Surge • Feds Probing Possible Oil Market Manipulation • Beware of Fuel Sippers Sipping High-Test • Retailers Respond to High Gas Prices with Discounts, Promotions • Rushing Into a Smaller Car Too Soon May Not Save Money • Hybrid Sales and Prices Climb in Lockstep with Gas Prices • Truckers Bemoan Burden of High Diesel Costs • Gas Prices Biting into Worker Productivity • Consumers Warned About Gas-Saving Schemes • Is Tony Soprano Controlling Gas Prices? • Oil & Gas: The New Bubble • Critics: New Federal Gas Mileage Standard Falls Short • Consumers Feeling Pain of Skyrocketing Gas Prices • New Gas Price Record Forecasts Expensive Summer Driving Season --- • More ...

The Grinch is lurking near the gas pumps this year as travelers pay holiday gasoline prices the likes of which have never been seen before.

Airfares are no bargain either as 65.2 million Americans travel 50 miles or more from home during the Christmas-New Year's holiday season. That is less than a 1 percent increase from last year's 64.7 million travelers.

Christmas travelers will pay a national average price for regular gasoline of $2.98. One month ago regular gasoline cost consumers $3.10 a gallon. Last year travelers paid $2.33 a gallon for regular gasoline.

Mid-grade gasoline now sells for an average national price of $3.16 a gallon. Premium gasoline sells for $3.28.

E85 sells for an average pump price of $2.40 but when the price is adjusted to reflect the lower energy content of a gallon of E85 the average pump price is $3.15.

The most expensive gallon of gasoline in the country is found in Hicksville, New York for $3.79 a gallon. The cheapest gallon is on sale in Macon, Georgia for $2.35 a gallon.

Here is a look at some gasoline prices form around the country in the ConsumerAffairs.com Gas Price Round Up.

California: Holiday travelers will be paying less for gas than one month ago during the Thanksgiving holiday but 60 to 70 cents more than during the Christmas-New Year's holiday season last year.

"As Christmas travelers hit the road this weekend, their holiday trips on average will cost $10 to $20 more for gasoline than they did last year," says Jeffrey Spring, a spokesman for the Automobile Club of Southern California.

"But if current price trends continue, drivers could see some gas station prices dip below $3 before the end of the year," Mr. Spring says.

The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $3.25, which is 4 cents lower than last week. In San Diego, the price is $3.27, which is 3.8 cents less than last week's price.

For yet another week, gas stations in San Francisco have the highest average price in the state at $3.48.

The highest price reported in California is $3.69 at a convenience station in Crescent City. The Lowest average price in the state is found in Orange County in Southern California at $3.19.

Texas: The Lone Star State is seeing its highest Yuletide retail gasoline prices ever, despite three straight weeks of price declines.

The AAA Texas survey shows regular self-serve averaging $2.85 per gallon, a penny less than last week but 64 cents higher than last year.

"Gasoline prices remain at unprecedented levels for this time of year with prices of $3 a gallon or more a common sight across much of the U.S.," said auto club spokeswoman Rose Rougeau. "Despite current gas prices, more than 86 percent of Texas travelers, or nearly 4.5 million, will drive to their holiday destination, an increase of one percent compared to 2006."

The cheapest gas price in Texas is in Houston, where the average retail price of regular self-serve fell a penny to $2.81 per gallon. The most expensive gallon is found in the Austin-San Marcos area, where the average price also fell about a penny to $2.91 per gallon.

North Carolina: Holiday travelers aren't being deterred by higher gas and prices in North Carolina this year.

AAA Carolinas reports that since last Christmas, gas prices have risen 30 percent statewide, yet more than 1.6 million residents are traveling this holiday season, which is a 1.5 percent increase from 2006.

AAA expects road travel to increase and air travel to dip slightly.

State highway officials are suspending all road construction between Friday night and January 2. Work zone speed limits will remain in effect.

The average price for a gallon of gas is $2.96, which is 68 cents higher from a year ago.

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