Falling gas prices across Idaho could spur holiday travel

Falling gas prices are more likely to inspire Idaho travelers to join the holiday traffic party this season, according to industry insiders.

AAA reports Idaho’s gas prices have dropped 18 cents since the beginning of December, a welcome savings for the many families planning a road trip in the coming days. The automotive industry group estimates a record 116 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home for the holidays this year, among them 614,000 Idahoans. Last year, 112 million Americans made the same or a similar journey.

This year, however, a new wrinkle might spike those numbers even further.

“Gas prices didn’t drop in October and mid-November as we would normally expect, partly because demand remained high and regional refineries had extra downtime with maintenance issues,” AAA Idaho spokesman Matthew Conde said from Boise. “But lately there has been a nice course correction. Refineries are back up to a 96 percent utilization rate, and gasoline stocks in the region are slowly building, both of which help to keep prices down. Although there may be a slowdown right before Christmas, we believe this trend will continue through the rest of the year.”

The current national average price per gallon for gasoline is $2.55, down five cents from this time last month, but 18 cents higher than a year ago. Idaho drivers, meanwhile, are paying $2.77 per gallon, which is down 22 cents from last month.

Christmas Day prices in Idaho have bounced from a $3.10 high in 2013 to a $2.13 low in 2015. Last year, Idaho drivers spent $2.61 per gallon on Christmas Day, compared to $2.31 nationwide, according to AAA.