Expect gas prices to keep falling through holidays

Prices of $1.89, $1.92 and $1.99 are being seen, and pump prices have fallen for ten consecutive days, reaching a local average of $2.19 and a national average price of $2.16 per gallon. Prices are below $1.59 a gallon in states such as OH, Texas and Oklahoma, according to GasBuddy.com.

The average price dropped more than 35 cents per gallon in a month in OH to $1.95 on Tuesday, although many stations had prices even lower.

Prices will begin their annual rise into the summer season sometime in January or February, unless there are unexpected refinery shutdowns, DeHaan said.

The average price of self-serve regular unleaded gasoline, based on reports from 22 stations in the Lockport area, is 2.29, down from $2.31 last week and $3.33 this time a year ago.

Drivers are benefiting from savings in the price of retail gasoline, with low price of crude oil, compared to previous years, as inventories build, and a recovery of refinery production in the Midwest, which also should improve prices, AAA said. The ExxonMobil refinery in Joliet, Ill., is set to return to production. That would be a 0.6% increase over last year and the seventh straight year of growth.

The average price for the city was $2.11 as of Wednesday afternoon. This and other refinery restarts in the Midwest have led to large weekly and monthly price discounts in OH, Illinois, in and MI. “Americans will likely pay the lowest Thanksgiving gas prices since 2008”, Jim Lehman, President of AAA East Central, said.

During the long holiday weekend, 46.9 million Americans are expected to travel 50 miles or more from home, the highest number since 2007, according to travel agency and auto lobbying group AAA. “While many people remain cautious about the economy and their finances, many thankful Americans continue to put a premium on traveling to spend the holiday with loved ones”.