Gas prices for the Labor Day holiday were the highest they've been in three years in Georgia thanks to Hurricane Harvey.
The storm hit the fuel refining regions in the Gulf Coast, leaving motorists with high prices at the pump, AAA reports in their weekly fuel price report.
Georgia's prices jumped 44 cents in the past eight days, while the national average rose 28 cents in 10 days. The average national price was $2.64 a gallon, the highest price since August 20, 2015. Georgia's average of $2.69 was also the highest since that same year, on June 23, 2015.
"Gas prices are reaching a point where they should begin to plateau," said Mark Jenkins, spokesman for AAA. "Wholesale prices are finally showing weakness, which will relieve upward pressure on the retail side. Unfortunately, for motorists in the southeastern U.S., they may not see prices move lower until Hurricane Irma is long gone.
"Retailers will not be in a big hurry to lower prices for a number of reasons," Jenkins continued. "For starters, retailers have the right to choose what they charge for gasoline. However, a state of emergency, like the one issued in Florida, prevents retailers from grossly raising prices beyond anything they've charged in the past 30 days. If they do, retailers have to prove justifiable cause, based on market trends."
Fuel trend reporting website GasBuddy.com senior petroleum analyst Patrick DeHaan said in their weekly report that until Houston can recover from Harvey, prices will remain elevated. "The situation is beginning to look up, with many refineries either back online or in the process, and gasoline production is ramping back up. While it may be weeks or longer before all refineries are back online, we now turn our attention to Hurricane Irma. With the Colonial Pipeline having shut down last week due to a lack of products, Florida and the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic may be a touch and go area for gasoline. Products are flowing to the region, but we'll have to keep a close on the storm, as Irma's path continues to be updated."
GasBuddy.com reported Georgia prices at the pump were up by 38.2 cents in the past week, averaging at $2.66 a gallon Monday. Nationally, they saw prices up 23.8 cents a gallon at $2.64.
Both AAA and GasBuddy.com agreed that the highest prices in the state were in Atlanta at $2.77 a gallon and the least expensive prices were in Augusta-Aiken at $2.54. Both are up over 30 cents from a week ago, according to GasBuddy.com.
AAA reports refineries are recovering from the storm and product is beginning to move again, and the Colonial Pipeline is expected to fully restore operation Tuesday. And, Jenkins said while some Texas markets are without gasoline Georgia, along with Florida and Tennessee, remain well supplied.
