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Thursday, July 03, 2008

Will Gas Prices Damper the Holiday Weekend?

FOXBusiness

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As the nation heads into the long holiday weekend, a few polls show that Americans will be traveling less, spending less at their destinations and paying yet another record amount at the pump to get where they're going.

The national average of a gallon of gas rose to $4.098, AAA said Thursday. That’s up from $4.092 from Wednesday. Gas prices are now 3% higher than they were a month ago and nearly 40% higher than they were a year ago.

The national average price for diesel gasoline remained at $4.767 a gallon.

The highest price in the lower 48 states is California, according to AAA, at $4.574 a gallon while the residents of Oklahoma are paying the lowest in the nation at $3.885 a gallon.

This also comes before the 4th of July weekend, where American families are expected to travel less and stay at home more. According to the same AAA report, Americans traveling during the 4th of July weekend will fall 1.3% to 40.45 million people versus 41 million people from a year ago. It’s the first time in a decade that the amount of Americans traveling during the 4th of July will decrease.

The amount of gasoline Americans are pumping is decreasing as well going into the holiday season. According to MasterCard (MA) Spending Pulse data, gasoline consumption nationwide is down 2% from the same time a year ago.