RALEIGH— Gas prices are on a slight rise in the Carolinas, but AAA Carolinas Spokesperson Tiffany Wright says pump prices should decrease in time for the holiday travel season.

Wright notes that in wake of the attack on Saudi Arabia's oil facilities a few weeks ago, gas prices are still fluctuating from pump to pump. She also says that though demand typically goes down during fall and winter driving seasons, this year’s demand numbers “look more like summer than fall,” according to an Energy Information Administration (EIA) report. Wright says that though demand is unusually high, the slowing of refinery maintenance should cause the Carolinas to see a decrease in gas prices by Thanksgiving.

While gas prices are on the rise in the Carolinas and nationwide, Wright says the national average is actually as much as 16 cents lower than it was last year.

Wright says that the oil industry is settling down in wake of the Saudi Arabian turmoil, and she says it’s a matter of refinery maintenance. She says “our refinery maintenance appears to be slowing down…which will help utilization and result in, what we hope, are cheaper gas prices for motorists as we head into the Thanksgiving holiday.”

Wright says Carolina gas prices should decrease slightly in the coming weeks.