Carolina Gas Prices Painful At The Pump For Thanksgiving

CHARLOTTE, NC — Gas prices in the Carolinas are currently averaging $3.20 a gallon for regular unleaded, which is a far cry from $1.93 a year ago according to AAA.

The smallest of silver linings is that $3.20 is down .02 from last week... but two cents is hardly a dent in the pain many Carolina drivers will feel at the pump traveling for Thanksgiving.

President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that 50 million barrels from oil reserves would be released to help combat high gas prices.

“Crude oil prices make up nearly 50 to 60 percent of what motorists pay at the pump,” explained AAA's Tiffany Wright.

She says oil production is still catching up, and it may take time before we see prices level off.

Nationally, it's not much better. The average is $3.40 and that's a whopping $1.29 more than a year ago, or 81 cents higher than pre-pandemic levels for comparison.

The highest gas prices we saw in the Charlotte area happened in 2008, when prices went above $4 a gallon that July.

If you're looking to fill up before you hit the road, here's the cheapest gas in our area per GasBuddy:

Cheapest Gas

Mecklenburg County - Costco in Matthews at $2.89 and Shell at 9100 Monroe in Charlotte at $2.91

Iredell County - Sam's Club and Costco in Mooresville, both at $3.09 and Rickie's One Stop in Statesville at $3.09

Cabarrus County - BP on Church Street in Concord is $3.09, and the Circle K on Ashdale in Kannapolis is also $3.09.

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