Georgia gas prices up another 10 cents

TAMPA, Fla. - Georgia gas prices up another dime over the past week.

AAA South says the average price for regular, unleaded is $2.45-a-gallon.

In the Gainesville area, the cheapest prices Monday morning, according to gasbuddy.com, are $2.34 at two outlets in Braselton; $2.42 at one in Suwanee; and $2.43 at one in Gainesville.

The national average increased 11-cents per gallon in the past week. AAA says the price at the pump is being driven by consistently rising crude oil and wholesale gasoline prices.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) crude oil closed Friday at $68.44 per barrel, an increase of more than $2 per barrel over last week and that increase came after falling from $70 per barrel reached in mid-day trading.

Wholesale gasoline prices have increased 140 percent since the December 24 low of 79- cents per gallon. In the past week, wholesale prices rose an average of 8.4-cents per gallon, according to Retail Fuel Watch. Consequently, retail pump prices in Florida and Tennessee increased 11-cents per gallon in the past week, while Georgia prices have increased 10-cents per gallon over the same period. As much as prices have increased this year, gasoline prices today remain about $1.40 less than the prices consumers paid one year ago.

Department of Energy data shows a slight decline in average U.S. gasoline demand, measured by product supplied to the market. DOE data put the four-week average at about 9.175 million barrels per day, down 0.4 percent from a year ago.

â