New York
CNN
—

Sheetz, the gas station and convenience store chain, is cutting prices at some pumps ahead of the busy Thanksgiving travel season.

Effective immediately, the price of Unleaded 88 will be reduced by 40 cents per gallon. The deal runs through the end of November and is available at 505 Sheetz locations that sell that type of gas.

Sheetz and other chains periodically lower prices to generate buzz and sales, even at the cost of lower profits. Attracting people with cheap gas could boost supermarket sales.

But it’s an odd time to be cutting gas prices, which are below $3 a gallon in 31 states and hovering at $3.06 a gallon nationally. That’s down from $3.30 at this time a year ago, according to AAA.

Sheetz, which has 750 locations primarily in the mid-Atlantic region, encourages customers to check their app or website to see if their location offers the discounted fuel. The chain also offered discounts on Unleaded 88 last summer and during the Thanksgiving holiday last year.

AAA is predicting the busiest Thanksgiving in years, with nearly 80 million people expected to travel for the holiday. That’s an increase of 1.7 million people from last year, the agency said, adding that nearly 90% of them will be drivers.

Drivers who fill up for their journey next week will notice that the price of a liter of petrol this year is about 25 cents cheaper in total than last year. GasBuddy said many drivers will see prices as low as $2.98 per gallon.

“Gas prices are finally returning to equilibrium after more than two years of sizzling due to external factors such as Covid and Russia,” Patrick De Haan of GasBuddy previously told CNN.