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The U.S. government’s latest inflation numbers contain some good news (and bad news) for consumers planning to travel this coming holiday season. Don’t expect the good news of Thanksgiving and Christmas to translate into lower prices.
See: Consumer Price Index: Falling Gas Prices Are Having a Positive Effect on Overall Inflation – Will It Last?
August CPI: Consumer Price Index Shows Inflation Despite Sharp Drop in Gas Prices
The good news is, monthly gasoline prices and airline fares both fell in August 2022, according to the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers released on September 13 by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Meanwhile, hotel and motel rates remained flat.
The Airline Fare Index continued to decline in August, falling 4.6% on the month after falling 7.8% in July.
The out-of-home index for hotels and motels was unchanged in August – although that’s not necessarily good news after the index has recorded declines over the past three months.
Car and truck rental prices continued to decline in August, with the index down 0.5 percent for the month. However, the August number was significantly lower than the 9.5% decline recorded in July.
The most positive trend in travel is the continued decline in fuel prices. August’s gasoline index fell 10.6% from the previous month – the largest monthly decline of the year and the second straight monthly low.
Nationally, the average gasoline price has stood at $3.707 per gallon as of September 13, 2022, according to AAA. That’s down from $3.779 a week ago and $3.965 a month ago, and below the all-time high of $5.016 a gallon set on June 13.
The wild card is how long gasoline prices can last, as they are particularly dependent on fuel prices.
Although global oil prices have recently hovered around $90 per barrel, some experts say oil prices may return to $120 per barrel this winter. One reason is that the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve was released in 2010. They will end on November 1, 2022. Another reason is that the European Union plans to implement an embargo on Russian crude from December 1, 2022.
Meanwhile, air tickets this holiday season are on track to be the most expensive in five years, according to data from travel app Hopper, CNBC reported. This is mainly due to increased demand as Covid-19 restrictions and fears ease.
According to Hopper, the average domestic airfare for travel over the Thanksgiving weekend is $350 — up 22 percent from 2019 before the outbreak. International round trips on Thanksgiving cost an average of $795, up 22% from pre-Covid prices.
Live updates: Consumer Price Index, gas prices, COLA and more.
Take our suggestion: How should you split the restaurant bill?
Domestic travel tickets for the 2022 Christmas weekend are nearly one-third the price of 2019, at an average of $463. The average price of an international round-trip ticket rose 26% over 2019 to $1,300 over the Christmas period.
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