Gas prices rise slightly before Christmas holiday

CHEYENNE (WNE) — As millions of Americans were hitting the road for the Christmas holiday, many reaped the gift of lower gas prices, with nearly 100,000 stations offering gasoline at $2.99 or less.
The national average price of gas was projected to be $3.09 on Christmas Day, according to GasBuddy.com, the leading fuel savings platform.
Prices over the holiday weekend had dropped nearly 80 cents per gallon compared to what drivers were paying earlier this fall, when the national average reached $3.85 per gallon.
Though a $2.99 national average seemed to be on the horizon, a sudden surge, propelled by the Federal Reserve hinting that interest rate cuts could be coming next year and Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea caused oil prices to rebound in the run-up to the holidays. While the rise may last a week or two, increases should be fairly mundane, with over half the nation’s states likely to stay close to a $3 per gallon average.
Another window of opportunity for lower gas prices could arrive in January or February, as refiners start to liquidate winter gasoline ahead of the transition to summer fuels.
“For the second straight year, we’ve seen the national average stop just short of falling below the $3-per-gallon mark, though tens of thousands of gas stations around the U.S. will still have prices at $2.99 or lower,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.