Community Corner

AAA: New Jerseyans on the Road for July 4 Will See Higher Gas Prices, Increased Traffic

Slight dip in gas prices outpaced by overall rise.

The New Jersey branch of the American Automobile Association, which has a location in Springfield, is predicting a large bump in the number of holiday drivers this year.  

They estimate that 945,000 New Jerseyans will hit the road this Fourth of July weekend. Those drivers, AAA believes, will encounter higher prices at the pump, as gas prices increased slightly for the second straight week. They noted in a press release that New Jersey's average price for a gallon of regular gas is $2.61, six cents below the national average of $2.75, but still nine cents higher than one year ago ($2.52).

"While gas prices have increased slightly over the last two weeks, the last month of steady decline has given travelers some reprieve at the pump," Cathleen Lewis, director of public affairs for the AAA New Jersey Automobile Club said in a statement. "This, coupled with more confidence in the economy, has translated to a significant bump in holiday travel."

Find out what's happening in Springfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Despite the ongoing attention of the oil spill and cleanup efforts, it has not had any impact on gas prices in the short term.  The US consumes nearly 20 million barrels of oil per day, but only 1.75 million barrels per day are produced in the Gulf region.

The full press release is below.

Find out what's happening in Springfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Holiday travel, gas prices on the rise

FLORHAM PARK, N.J., June 29, 2010 - When an estimated 945,000 New Jerseyans hit the road this Fourth of July weekend, they will encounter higher prices at the pump, as gas prices increased slightly for the second straight week.  New Jersey's current average price for a gallon of regular gasoline is $2.61, six cents below the national average of $2.75, but still nine cents higher than one year ago ($2.52).

"While gas prices have increased slightly over the last two weeks, the last month of steady decline has given travelers some reprieve at the pump.  This, coupled with more confidence in the economy, has translated to a significant bump in holiday travel," said Cathleen Lewis, director of public affairs for the AAA New Jersey Automobile Club.

The small gains in the retail prices are not a reflection of changes to the wholesale market, where oil prices ended the day lower after choppy trading, finishing the day at $78.48/bbl, down 68 cents from the opening.

Much of the gains from last Friday were returned as crude oil fell from a 7-week high on concerns over the impact of the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season.  Tropical storm Alex is expected to make landfall in two days and is forecast to hit Brownsville, Texas near the border of Mexico.  While the storm is expected to miss refining and drilling operations in the Gulf, it is expected to cause 2-4 foot wave swells, pushing the unrecovered oil farther into previously unaffected areas of the coast.

Two weeks ago, the Energy Information Administration forecast an active hurricane season and predicted a 20 percent chance of at least one very severe storm.  Since 2005, when Katrina hit New Orleans, prices have been somewhat sensitive when news of a major storm in the Gulf is involved.  The National Weather Service is following the storm track closely and Alex could be upgraded to a hurricane in the next 48 hours.

Despite the ongoing attention of the oil spill and cleanup efforts, it has not had any impact on gas prices in the short term.  The US consumes nearly 20 million barrels of oil per day, but only 1.75 million barrels per day are produced in the Gulf region.

The AAA New Jersey Automobile Club, headquartered in Florham Park, provides automotive, travel, insurance, financial and educational services to residents of Essex, Morris and Union Counties.  Visit AAA online at AAA.com.


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