Gas price predictions break holiday records

Staff Report

TPI Staff

Average gasoline prices in Alabama have fallen 8.7 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.19 per gallon Monday, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 3,348 stations in Alabama.

However, as Americans prepare to hit the road for Thanksgiving, average gasoline prices will be at their highest seasonal level ever for the weekend according to GasBuddy. The national average is projected to stand at $3.68 on Thanksgiving Day – nearly 30 cents higher than last year, and over 20 cents higher than the previous record of $3.44 set in 2012. But that won’t slow many down, with 20 percent more Americans planning to hit the road this year.

The number of Americans traveling over the weekend this year is up from 32 percent last year to 38 percent, with 62 percent of Americans not planning on road tripping for Thanksgiving. Twenty-one percent say they are choosing not to drive due to high fuel prices.

“It has been a dizzying year at the pump, with motorists likely feeling nauseous not from the eggnog, but from the roller coaster ride at the pump with record gasoline prices earlier this year, which have fallen significantly since mid-summer,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said. “Americans, however, are proving that while we’ll openly complain about high gas prices, most of us aren’t deterred from taking to the highways to observe Thanksgiving with those that matter most to us, especially as precautions from the pandemic have eased.”

According to De Haan, travelers can expect Wednesday afternoon between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.to be the busiest on the nation’s highways, and on Friday between 8 - 11 a.m. Twenty-three percent of respondents to GasBuddy’s Thanksgiving survey say they’ll spend one to three hours in the car, compared to 2021, when most indicated they’d travel less than an hour away. While 21 percent say high fuel prices are impacting their travel, surprisingly fewer are citing high gas prices this year (46 percent vs. 51 percent in 2021) for impacting their travel plans. Seventy-three percent of Americans traveling won’t be crossing state lines to do so.

This week, prices in Alabama are 18.3 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and stand 4.3 cents per gallon higher than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has declined 6.7 cents in the last week and stands at $5.28 per gallon.

According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Alabama was priced at $2.83 per gallon Sunday while the most expensive was $3.89 per gallon, a difference of $1.06 per gallon.

The national average price of gasoline has fallen 11.9 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.64 per gallon Monday. The national average is down 16.4 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 24.5 cents per gallon higher than a year ago, according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 11 million weekly price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country.

“What an incredible turnaround in the last week. While a decline was expected in more states than last week, I didn’t expect every single state to hop on the bandwagon so quickly. But it’s terrific news as motorists prepare for Thanksgiving travel, with tens of thousands of stations under $3 per gallon, and thousands more to join in the next few weeks, barring a dramatic turnaround,” De Haan said. “Everyone will be seeing relief at the pump this week, with even more substantial declines on the way as oil prices plummeted last week to briefly trade under $80 per barrel. It’s not impossible that if oil markets hold here, we could see a national average of $2.99 around Christmas, certainly the gift that every motorist is hoping for. Drivers shouldn’t be in a rush to fill up as prices will come down nearly coast-to-coast into the heavily traveled Thanks- giving holiday.”

Historical gasoline prices in Alabama and the national average going back ten years: November 21, 2021: $3.14/g (U.S. Average: $3.39/g)

November 21, 2020: $1.84/g (U.S. Average: $2.11/g)

November 21, 2019: $2.24/g (U.S. Average: $2.60/g)

November 21, 2018: $2.30/g (U.S. Average: $2.58/g)

November 21, 2017: $2.22/g (U.S. Average: $2.52/g)

November 21, 2016: $1.94/g (U.S. Average: $2.13/g)

November 21, 2015: $1.86/g (U.S. Average: $2.08/g)

November 21, 2014: $2.66/g (U.S. Average: $2.83/g)

November 21, 2013: $3.10/g (U.S. Average: $3.21/g)

November 21, 2012: $3.21/g (U.S. Average: $3.42/g)

GasBuddy is a voice for gas prices and a source for station-level data. GasBuddy’s survey updates 288 times every day from a diverse list of sources covering nearly 150,000 stations nationwide.

By Rea Cord Executive Director

Thanksgiving Week is a time for family, friends and giving thanks and we always have much to be thankful for. We have to ask that you please thank our extremely dedicated staff who are there 365 days a year caring for 300 pets/day and doing all they can to give them better and brighter futures. Our board members are volunteers who give tirelessly of themselves to ensure the present and future of our shelter. Our Tail’s End Thrift Store is 100 percent volunteer run and we cannot thank them enough for their dedication and hard work as all of our store’s proceeds go to our Shelter and the animals in our care. Of course, all who donate and shop at the Tail’s End Thrift Store contribute greatly, and we hope everyone continues their wonderful patronage.

We so appreciate all veterinarians and their staffs for helping pets and educating their owners to help those pets live healthier and longer lives. An often-unsung group that deserve our thanks are the animal control officers who work to protect the public and help animals in need.

We have a most wonderful group of dog exercisers who show up daily to help our dogs spend fun time out of their kennels for their physical and mental health. And to our foster families who open their hearts and homes to help us save even more lives we are incredibly grateful. So that our pets can be posted on-line and be seen we are indebted to our intrepid volunteer photographers and so appreciate their time and talent every week taking photos.

Of course, as a nonprofit we are incredibly grateful to our donors

Pet of the Week – Turkey

Given that this is Thanksgiving week, we simply have to make Turkey our Pet of the Week! Turkey is a twoyear old, female Pit that came to us as a stray. She is beyond sweet, has a funny broken bark hence her Turkey name. She is a very petite little Pit, only 27 lbs. Great with other dogs, very playful and just a little clown who loves people!

Our adoption fees are $100 for dogs and $50 for cats under one-yearold; cats over one-year-old can be adopted by approved adopters for a fee of their choosing. This adoption fee completely covers the mandatory spay or neuter, basic immunizations, de-worming, microchip, heartworm check for dogs, rabies vaccination if old enough, free health exam with your participating veterinarian.

If you are interested in meeting Turkey or any of our pets, our first step is our Adoption Application you can do here: https://elmorehumane. org/adoption-application-onlineform2.html. Once approved, we will coordinate with you to set up an appointment to meet and adopt.

We are located at 255 Central Plank Road, Wetumpka, AL, 36092, our phone number is 334-567-3377 and our website is www.elmorehumane.org for more information.

Canned Food Drive receives donation

and supporters as it certainly takes money, food, supplies and more to keep our doors open and care for 300 animals on any given day. We are indebted to all the individuals, businesses, and civic groups who help us through donations, sponsorships and event support and we truly appreciate how your efforts help us be the best Shelter we can be as we all work together to save lives.

Special thanks to our Adopters for opening their homes and hearts to our Shelter pets and giving them time to adapt to their new lives. We are indebted to the public who supports our mission directly and indirectly – your moral support for the welfare of animals is important to all of us in the sheltering community. For those we may never meet but who love and care for your pets, keep them safe at home, make sure they are a part of your family and cherish them, you have our utmost thanks as you are the homes we strive for every day as we do adoptions.

Our final and most heartfelt thanks go to all the wonderful animals that ask so little of us but give so much in return. Our pets enhance our human lives in so many ways and we are grateful for the selfless love, joy and companionship they bring to our homes and families.

We hope everyone has a family filled Thanksgiving and so that our staff can also enjoy some time with family, the shelter will be closed Thursday and Friday, Nov. 24 and 25, but will be back open on Sat, Nov. 26. Our Tail’s End Thrift Store, however, will be open for Black Friday sales – on Friday all clothing is buy one, get one of equal or lower value free. All linens and select pet items will be 50 percent off Friday and Saturday, and on Saturday jewelry will be on sale for 50 percent off!

We hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving!