"Heading into the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, US retail regular-grade gasoline averaged $2.61 per gallon (gal), up 4 cents/gal from the same time last year," a press release summarizing the report stated. "This year marks the highest gasoline price for the Monday before the Thanksgiving holiday weekend since 2013."
The Thanksgiving holiday weekend, which begins on the fourth Thursday of November, is one of the heaviest travel times of the year, the release noted.
An estimated 54.3 million people will be travelling 50 miles or more for the holiday this year, of which 48.5 million of them will drive, the release said, citing estimates by the American Automobile Association.
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Gasoline prices continue to be closely linked to crude oil prices, and the spot price for Brent, a key global crude oil benchmark, was $64.14 per barrel as of November 19, about $3 per barrel higher than the price from the same time last year, the release said.
The Brent crude oil spot price has recently decreased from a weekly average of $85.44 for the week ending on October 5 to a weekly average of $70.34 for the week ending on November 9, according to the release.
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