Thanksgiving pump prices are certain to be the highest in three years, although a recent drop in oil should lead to lower prices for drivers once the weekend road trips end.
Gasoline prices reached an average of $2.89 a gallon earlier this week, just 3 cents less than the 2010 high of $2.92 reached in May. Rising oil prices, a seasonal drop in refinery output and a weaker dollar all contributed to a 5-cent increase in retail gas prices in the past month.
But oil prices have retreated about 7 percent over the past eight days, a decline that is slowly showing up at the pump. And gasoline demand will tail off after the long holiday weekend, putting additional downward pressure on prices.
The national average for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline was $2.88 Friday, according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. That's still about a quarter more than a year ago
Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service, predicted the national average will drop toward $2.75 a gallon during the winter.
Whether that happens depends partly on the price of oil.
Crude oil prices rose about 14 percent from Labor Day through Nov. 11.
That made oil and commodities like gold more of a bargain for buyers who use other currencies. Gasoline prices tagged along, rising about 7.6 percent.
Oil's direction reversed sharply in the past week as investors became concerned about China's effort to slow economic growth.
Motorists who live along the West Coast, in Illinois and Maine are among those paying the highest prices, with the average ranging between $3.53 a gallon and $2.99 a gallon. The lowest prices were in the Midwest, Texas and Colorado, between $2.74 a gallon and $2.68 a gallon.
