While Georgia gasoline prices dropped a bit over the past week, they are still well above what they were a year ago.
AAA-The Auto Club South said in its weekly fuel price report that Georgia motorists are paying an average price of $2.91 per gallon for regular unleaded gasoline, which is two cents less than a week ago, but 22 cents more than last month and $1.16 more than this time last year. The agency said gasoline prices for this Memorial Day are higher than they have been for the last seven years.
Georgia motorists are paying $43.65 to fill a 15-gallon tank of gasoline - $6.75 more than what motorists paid in January of 2020 when pump prices hit their peak of $2.46 per gallon.
"Some holiday road trippers reported coming across a few gas stations with low fuel,” said AAA spokeswoman Montrae Waiters. “However, this did not prevent motorists from finding an available pump and filling up.”
NATIONAL AVERAGE STABILIZES AFTER RANSOMWARE ATTACK DISRUPTS GAS DISTRIBUTION
Since last Monday, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline has increased by 1 cent to $3.04. According to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand increased from 9.22 million barrels a day to 9.58 million barrels a day last week. Higher demand will likely contribute to fluctuations in pump prices through the holiday weekend, particularly as AAA predicts 34 million Americans will travel by car – an increase of 53% from last year. Learn more here.
OIL MARKET DYNAMICS
At the close of last Thursday’s formal trading session, WTI increased by 64 cents to settle at $66.85. After EIA’s weekly report showed that total domestic crude inventories decreased by 1.7 million barrels to 484.3 million barrels, crude prices increased last week. However, price gains have been limited by market concerns that increasing coronavirus infections around the world could reduce crude consumption this year.
REGIONAL PRICES
- Most expensive Georgia metro markets – Atlanta ($2.96), Athens ($2.93), and Gainesville ($2.92).
- Least expensive Georgia metro markets – Warner Robins ($2.80), Albany ($2.81), and Brunswick ($2.83).
