TAMPA, Fla. - Gas prices remained relatively stagnant last week, falling a mere three hundredths of a cent nationwide. Refinery outages in both Canada and Texas have caused the steady decline in gasoline to come to a halt and even spike in some markets. The Pensacola metro area in Florida saw a 6 cent rise in the average price of gas. <br />
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"Refinery maintenance, especially in the Gulf, is causing the tightening of supplies is some areas," said Josh Carrasco, spokesman, AAA - The Auto Club Group. "As a result of these refinery issues, the downward pressure on gas prices motorists saw earlier in the month has stopped."<br />
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Several companies in the Gulf region, home to over 40 percent of U.S. refining capacity, announced unplanned maintenance, significantly reducing output from the area. These outages come as other refineries in the region are conducting seasonal maintenance. <br />
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According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the economy grew at it's fastest rate in two years in the second quarter of 2014. The report helped oil prices rise for the second straight week. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.13 this week to close at $93.54 a barrel on Friday.<br />
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"Overall, motorists are still seeing value at the pump," said Carrasco. "Gas prices are at a seven month low and we expect gasoline to continue trending downwards in the coming months. High domestic oil production here in the U.S. should continue placing downward pressure on oil and gasoline."<br />
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The current national average for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is $3.340, down a fraction of a cent from last week. Prices fell 1 cent this week in Tennessee to $3.127 a gallon. In Florida prices remained relatively the same, with gas averaging $3.288 a gallon. The average price of gas sits at $3.330 a gallon in Georgia, rising 1 cent over last week.<br />
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