Gas price expert gives insight on holiday gas price trends

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - As we head into the holiday season and into a time of holiday travel, many of us may be wondering what gas prices are going to look like in the upcoming weeks.

For college student Macy Conley, she said a trip home can get pretty pricey.

“Gas is gas, you have to get it either way, but I try to drive as little as possible around campus because they keep going up,” Conley said.

Patrick De Haan is the head of petroleum analysis for the gas price tracking app, GasBuddy. He said there is an explanation for a recent surge at the pump.

“Prices tend to cycle. They’re on a bit of a roller coaster ride and it happens every two to three weeks in the fall,” De Haan said. “Stations often start aggressively undercutting each other to a point where they are selling at or below their cost. That’s what then triggers them to raise prices to where they should’ve been all along.”

Although we may be seeing gas price spikes right now, De Haan said there is good news on the horizon.

“Just after prices have gone up, they will start to go back down. Again, it happens every two to three weeks, so wait a week or so after prices jump and you’ll find prices going back down again,” De Haan said.

De Haan added that the rate of increase is actually on the decline.

For students like Conley, that means saving a few bucks, which makes those trips home less stressful.

“Hearing that its gonna stay in the low 3′s, its nice because I remember when it was like, 4′s. I was like, ‘that’s a little rough, maybe I shouldn’t go home this weekend or take the bus or something.’ So that’s a big relief,” Conley said.

De Haan said Kentucky is seeing some of the lowest holiday gas prices we have had in several years.

He estimates many gas stations across the Commonwealth will offer prices below or slightly above three dollars a gallon.

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