Gas prices drop ahead of the holiday weekend

If you plan to be one of the nearly 55 million Americans AAA expects to travel over the long holiday weekend, there is some relatively good news. FOX 5's Josh Rosenthal reports from Bethesda.

BETHESDA, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - If you plan to be one of the nearly 55 million Americans AAA expects to travel over the long holiday weekend, there is some relatively good news.

"Gas prices are sliding significantly ahead of Thanksgiving," explained GasBuddy’s Patrick De Haan. "It is still more expensive than last year but that gap is closing rapidly."

That’s right, the days of nearly $5 per gallon gas from last summer appear to be in the rearview mirror — at least for now.

According to De Haan, all 50 states saw a decline in gas prices last week, and 27 states now have at least one station with gas under $3 per gallon. The current national average price of $3.64 is down 14 cents from just one week ago.

As for why we’re seeing a drop in prices, De Haan said there are several factors in play, including reduced demand.

"Aside from holidays, Americans are starting to hunker down and go into hibernation. That is why they’re consuming less gasoline," he said.

The good times are expected to keep on rolling, too. De Haan said he believes the D.C. metro area will see prices drop another 10 to 30 cents per gallon over the next seven to 12 days.