A record number of Americans are planning to travel over the Independence Day holiday period, which could provide a boost to U.S. gasoline demand, which has been sluggish so far this summer.
AAA expects 70.9 million travelers will head to locations more than 50 miles from home during the Independence Day holiday travel period, which runs from Saturday, June 29 through Sunday, July 7, the association said in a new forecast Thursday.
For the first time, AAA looked at the entire week of July 4, as well as the Saturday before and Sunday after the holiday. AAA said it expects travel during this period to be 5% higher than in 2023 and 8% higher than in 2019, setting new records for both road and air travel.
AAA predicts that a record 60.6 million people will travel by car during the week of Independence Day, an increase of 2.8 million from last year. The number of people expected to travel by car is significantly higher than in 2019, before the pandemic, when 55.3 million people traveled by car the week of July 4.
U.S. gasoline prices are lower than last year, when the national average was $3.53 a gallon, and prices at the pump are likely to continue to fall heading into Independence Day, the AAA said.
“At that point, gasoline prices will likely remain flat and relatively stable until after Labor Day, as they did last year,” the association said, but added, “It's important to note that the ongoing hurricane season could impact gasoline prices if it adversely affects oil production and refining centers on the Gulf Coast.”
AAA predicts air travel will also set a new record over the Fourth of July, with 5.74 million people planning to fly to their destinations — up about 7% compared to 2023 and 12% compared to 2019.
Despite a later-than-expected start to the summer driving season, a record number of Americans traveled over the Independence Day holiday could boost gasoline demand in the United States this summer.
Article by Tsvetana Paraskova from Oilprice.com
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