Forget presents or coal — Santa is delivering on gas prices this holiday season.
Prices at the pump are expected to hit a national average of $2.95 per gallon on Christmas Day, the lowest since 2020, according to GasBuddy. GasBuddy is a website and mobile app that collects and shares real-time gas price information from users and other sources, allowing drivers to compare prices at various stations.
In San Antonio, prices are well below the national average at $2.46 per gallon as of Tuesday — about 2 cents lower than prices were last month, 1 cent more than last week, and about on par with what average prices were this time last year, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.
“This holiday season is shaping up to be a gift for American drivers, with gas prices presenting a stark contrast to the budget-breaking levels we’ve seen in recent years and a return to what feels like normal for many Americans filling their tanks,” De Haan, said. “After waiting an exhausting two years for imbalances brought on by COVID and Russia’s war on Ukraine to settle down, we’re finally getting back to normal.”
As we edge closer to the end of the year, momentum for falling gas prices is weakening, De Haan added — which is typical as the national average generally bottoms out between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
“With oil prices rising back above $70 (a barrel) last week, gas prices may have less potential to drop much further, though there may be a second window of lower prices in January or February in some areas, but even that won’t last long,” he said.
For the first time since October, the national average price of gasoline increased over the past week, rising by 8 cents to $2.98 per gallon, according to GasBuddy data.
Compared to a month ago, the national average price on gas is down 7.5 cents, and it’s 7.1 cents lower than this time last year.
Meanwhile, the average price of diesel has dropped 1.8 cents over the past week, now standing at $3.47 per gallon.