AAA: High gas prices to continue

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The coronavirus vaccines might have contributed to a rise in gasoline prices illustrated by photo of Kroger gas station on South Cobb DriveKroger gas station on Concord Road and South Cobb Drive (the photo was taken last year, so the prices are outdated)-- photo by Larry Felton Johnson

Posted By: Larry Felton Johnson April 22, 2019

According to the weekly news release from AAA, high  Georgia gas prices are continuing.  Prices statewide are an average of $2.68 per gallon for regular unleaded, 16 cents less than the national average. Prices are two cents more than the same time last year.

“High-drive seasons, such as, Memorial Day and July 4 are also times when gas prices may fluctuate,” said Montrae Waiters, spokesperson, AAA – The Auto Club Group.  “AAA forecasts the national average should peak at around $2.75.”

The AAA’s average national price on their gas page this morning, however, has the national average at $2.842, and the statewide average continuing at $2.68.

Cobb county gas prices

The average price in Cobb County is $2.695, slightly more than the statewide average.  Prices in metro Atlanta as a whole are 21 cents above last months average, and three cents more than this time last year.

It is always possible to find lower gas prices than the average by comparison shopping or using tools like http://gasbuddy.com.

The Energy Information Administration report

The AAA news release states:

In its latest weekly petroleum status report, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) released new data that shows a slight decrease in demand. The estimate is approximately 9.42 million b/d, a decline of nearly 0.4 million b/d from the previous week. EIA also reported that total gasoline inventories dropped by 1.2 million barrels and crude oil inventories dropped by 1.4 million bbl. Crude imports to the U.S. also slowed, the most recent week’s import rate of 5.992 million b/d is almost 2 million b/d lower than they saw the same week last year. Should crude oil and gasoline stocks continue to drop and supply tighten then drivers could see gas prices continue to rise in the coming weeks.

How does AAA determine gas prices?

AAA explains it’s methodology for collecting data on gasoline prices at the pump as follows:

AAA updates fuel price averages daily at www.GasPrices.AAA.com. Every day up to 130,000 stations are surveyed based on credit card swipes and direct feeds in cooperation with the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS) and Wright Express for unmatched statistical reliability. All average retail prices in this report are for a gallon of regular, unleaded gasoline.

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