As record numbers of Georgians prepare to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday, they'll find higher gas prices awaiting them at the pump. AAA-The Auto Club Group reported Sunday night Georgia motorists are now paying an average price of $2.43 per gallon for regular unleaded. Monday's state average is 2-cents more than a week ago, 2-cents more than last month, and 3-cents more than this time last year.
It now costs $36.45 to fill a 15-gallon tank of gasoline. That is $6.15 less than what motorists paid in May of 2018, when pump prices hit their peak of $2.84 per gallon.
"Gas prices have been fluctuating as of late, but are currently cheaper than the national average at this time last year, giving Americans a little extra money to spend on travel and motivating millions to take road trips,” said Montrae Waiters, spokeswoman for AAA. “For the majority of Americans, AAA expects gas prices to be fairly similar to last year's Thanksgiving holiday, which averaged $2.57.”
Crude Oil
Crude oil prices have increased slightly this week due to reports that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its partners will likely decide to extend their production reduction agreement through the middle of 2020 at OPEC’s upcoming meeting in Vienna on December 5 and 6. Price gains were limited by continued market fear that the trade war between China and the U.S. – the world’s two largest crude consumers – will reduce crude demand moving into next year. In related news, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) weekly report showed that total domestic crude inventories increased by 1.4 million barrels last week, bringing the new total to 450.4 million barrels. The current level is 3.5 million barrels higher than last year’s level at this same time.
Regional Prices
- Most expensive Georgia metro markets –Atlanta-Savannah ($2.48), Athens-Savannah ($2.45), and Gainesville ($2.44).
- Least expensive Georgia metro markets – Catoosa-Dade-Walker ($2.29), Augusta-Aiken ($2.32) and Dalton ($2.33).
