As the Thanksgiving travel season is inching closer, residents heading out of town via car may balk at what they’re seeing at the pump. Gas prices are hitting record prices across California, hitting an average price of $4.676 a gallon on Sunday, according to AAA.
That’s just 1 cent below the highest average ever recorded by AAA, in October 2012.
“Our data shows the California statewide average has actually been at a record for several days,” said Patrick De Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, an app that helps people find gas prices.
According to GasBuddy data, the state hit a record high on Nov. 5, when the average climbed to $4.686 per gallon.
Meanwhile, the San Francisco metro area was breaking records all last week. GasBuddy data shows the average price per gallon climbed to $4.847 Friday, up from an all-time record of $4.842 on Nov. 10. AAA data saw similar trends, with Nov. 12 recording a record of $4.855 per gallon.
Prices nationwide have been rising for more than six weeks, largely due to a combination of demand outstripping supply and the energy crisis overseas. De Haan said all those factors are still at play, but the recent weather in California has also had an effect. “California got a bit of a double whammy,” he said. “It got a tremendous amount of rain, which caused some refinery hiccups, which had just enough of an effect to cause a rise in prices.”
While these are undoubtedly high prices, De Haan said it’s important to remember that if we adjusted for inflation when comparing to the previously recorded record prices in 2012, the price wouldn’t actually be a record.
Road travel is still the most popular way to travel over the Thanksgiving holiday, and a AAA report forecasts that travel will be heavy. In the Bay Area, the worst time to travel by car is predicted to be Wednesday, Nov. 24, from 4 to 6 p.m.
De Haan said drivers should see prices get at least a few cents lower before they have to fill up for any big Thanksgiving road trips. “We may start to see some relief though, that’s the good news,” he said. “It’s not a massive downturn but there should be a subtle downturn in prices ahead of Thanksgiving.”