Metro Atlantans hitting the road for Christmas may be contending with clogged highways, clogging arteries, political diatribes over dessert and sugar-fueled children, but at least when they are on the road, they’ll have some affordable gasoline.
Gas prices have fallen nearly 50 cents a gallon since midsummer.
“This holiday season is shaping up to be a gift for American drivers,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “It’s a return to what feels like normal for many Americans filling their tanks.”
A gallon of regular gas averaged $2.95 in metro Atlanta on Friday, down from $3.44 in July. The lowest non-club price in the region Friday was a BP in Lithonia charging $2.49.
A year ago, gas averaged $3.02 a gallon, according to Gas Buddy, which tracks fuel prices nationwide.
The lowest holiday prices of the past nine years were at Christmas in 2020 when the COVID-19 vaccine was still not widely available, demand for gas was muted and global oil prices were at a 19-year low. Unemployment was high and commute driving was down, holiday traveling was off as well and overall demand for gasoline was muted.
The average price for gas was $2.02 a gallon in Atlanta.
A year later, Russia was threatening to invade Ukraine, world fuel prices were rising rapidly and the average gallon in Atlanta sold for $3.15. After the invasion took place, prices soared and so did gas prices, hitting $4.54 a gallon in Atlanta in the summer of 2022.
That was an all-time high, but not if inflation is taken into account. The $4.11-a-gallon crest in the summer of 2008 translates to $5.89 a gallon in today’s dollars, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
But as markets adjusted to the Russia-Ukraine war, prices began a long, slow descent.
Among the factors pushing prices lower are the higher interest rates engineered by the Federal Reserve to fight inflation by slowing the economy. The slowing economy in China, the world’s second-largest user of oil, is another drag on demand, De Haan said.
By last year, Christmas holiday travel was up to a record level. This year, it’s higher, according to AAA: An estimated 3.7 million Georgians will travel 50 or more miles from home for the holiday, even more than last year’s record number.
The vast majority — about 3.3 million people — will travel by vehicle, AAA said.
For most people, prices figure into their plans, said Christopher Fagan, partner at Atlanta-based accounting firm Moore Colson. “Most folks in the middle class make decisions based on economic factors such as gas. It’s a significant cost to a lot of folks, for sure.”
About 17% of American household annual expenses go toward transportation, with gasoline making up roughly 3.2% of yearly expenses, or a little more than $200 per month, according to J.D. Power, a consumer research and analysis firm.
However, the share of spending is much higher for low-income households — and higher still if they must make long commutes.
Long trips also mean a lot of expense in a short time.
In the long term, the U.S. government has limited ability to control fuel prices, Fagan said. While American oil production is at record levels, other large producers, like Saudi Arabia and Russia, can offset that by pumping less.
Moreover, gasoline is made by refining oil, and U.S. refineries “are pretty much maxed out,” Fagan said.
That means more oil wouldn’t necessarily mean more gasoline, he said. “If there’s no additional capacity to bring online, to take gas prices from $3 to $2? It’s just not feasible.”
Average metro Atlanta gas price pre-Christmas
- 2014: $2.44
- 2015: $1.95
- 2016: $2.21
- 2017: $2.29
- 2018: $2.15
- 2019: $2.38
- 2020: $2.02
- 2021: $3.15
- 2022: $2.76
- 2023: $3.02
- 2024: $2.96
Source: Gas Buddy
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