Gas prices have remained relatively quiet in November thanks to an abundance of crude oil, but pump prices are beginning to slowly tick up across the Northeast ahead of Thanksgiving.
The average gas price in Massachusetts on Monday was up two cents from last week ($3), averaging $3.02 per gallon.
The Bay State’s average gas price is five cents lower than the national average.
“Supply and demand are the name of the game when it comes to prices at the pump, so shrinking inventories mixed with modest increases in demand are moving prices upward,” said Mark Schieldrop, senior spokesperson for AAA Northeast.
“Demand, while up, is still lower than this time last year — helping to keep steeper increases in the Northeast at bay,” he added.
Nearly 82 million travelers expected for Thanksgiving
AAA projects 81.8 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home over the Thanksgiving holiday period — from Tuesday, Nov. 25 to Monday, Dec. 1.
This would be 1.6 million more travelers than last Thanksgiving, setting a new overall record.
Of those 81.8 million people, AAA projects at least 73 million people will travel by car. That would be an increase of 1.3 million car travelers compared to last Thanksgiving. It could be higher if people who want to avoid airports on the heels of recent flight cancellations decide to drive.
Six million U.S. travelers are expected to take domestic flights, a 2% increase from last year.
Travel by other modes — including bus, train and cruise — is expected to jump 8.5% to nearly 2.5 million people. Buses and trains could see an uptick in last-minute bookings this year.
Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon are expected to be the most congested periods before Thanksgiving Day, according to INRIX, a provider of transportation data and insights. Travelers returning home on Sunday should expect heavy traffic most of the day.
Ticker: Massachusetts gas prices tick up; about 82 million people expected to travel for Thanksgiving
