Lower Gas Prices Predicted Despite Holiday Travel

ATLANTA -- AAA is predicting that the price of oil and gas will drop in the coming week despite the Thanksgiving travel demand.

AAA attributes this prediction to the strengthening of the dollar against the euro, a decline in interest by investors in commodities, and a good stock of oil and gas.

"In five of the last seven years, the national average price of gasoline has declined during Thanksgiving week and one week it remained unchanged," AAA Auto Club South spokesman Gregg Laskoski stated in a release Sunday.

Crude oil closed Friday at $76.72 per barrel, up 37 cents above the previous week. According to AAA, the national average for a gallon of gas was $2.64 and in Georgia that average was lower at $2.49.