Ga. gas prices up a bit

TAMPA, Fla. - Christmas Week brought with it a slight increase in the price of a gallon of gasoline in Georgia.

The average price for regular increased a couple of pennies, according to AAA Auto Club South, which says it is now about $2.46.

The small occurred event though crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed the holiday-shortened trading week on a high note Christmas Eve at $78.05 per barrel.

Analysts attribute the increase in crude (along with heating oil and natural gas) to a forecast that the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. will have colder weather than normal from Dec. 29 through Jan. 2. Severe cold places additional pressure on U.S. refineries to meet growing demand for both heating oil and gasoline at the same time, but this has little effect on gasoline prices, a AAA spokeswoman said.

The national average price of unleaded regular gasoline is $2.60 per gallon and that reflects a 1-cent per gallon increase in the past week. Floridaâ