As millions hit the road for holiday weekend, Georgia sees some relief at gas pump

While the largest number of people in a decade is projected to travel this Memorial Day Weekend, Georgians hitting the road will some relief at the gas pumps.

AAA reports that an agreement made at an Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meeting this week prevented an expected surge of gas prices. In Georgia the average price of gasoline heading into the holiday weekend is $2.22 per gallon, which was 5 cents less than last year and 41 cents lower than Memorial Day 2015, according to a AAA news release.

Oil prices rose earlier this week over expectations of further cuts to the crude oil supply. But the cost acutally decreased about $3 dollars a barrel after the OPEC decided to not too make additional cuts, AAA said.

A projected 39.3 million people nationwide will travel at least 50 miles away from home during Memorial Day weekend, which is the largest amount since 2005. The majority of those — 34.6 million — are expected to drive. Air travel also is up five percent from the previous year.

Georgia’s price of gasoline remains lower than the national average of $2.37 per gallon, AAA said.

This story was originally published May 26, 2017 at 3:01 PM with the headline "As millions hit the road for holiday weekend, Georgia sees some relief at gas pump."