Georgia gasoline prices drop during week

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Cobb DriveKroger gas station on Concord Road and South Cobb Drive (the photo was taken last year, so the prices are outdated)-- photo by Larry Felton Johnson

 According to a press release from Montrae Waiters, spokeswoman for AAA – The Auto Club Group, Georgia gasoline prices  dropped at the pump compared to Monday of last week.

According to the press release:

Georgia motorists are now paying an average price of $1.99 per gallon for regular unleaded gasoline. Monday’s state average is 3 cents less than a week ago, 1 cent more than last month, and 60 cents less than this time last year.

“Georgians continue to see cost savings at the pump,” said Montrae Waiters, spokeswoman, AAA – The Auto Club Group. “Lower demand has aided gas prices to decline, which will likely last into fall.”

Why are price dropping?

AAA describes the factors that went into the Georgia gasoline price drop, including lower demand:

Since last Monday, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline has decreased by 1 cent to $2.18. In the new weekly report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand saw a slight uptick from 8.39 million barrels a day to 8.48 million barrels a day. However, demand is still 461,000 barrels a day lower than where it was at this time last year. Low demand will likely help pump prices to continue their descent as fall approaches. 

At the close of last Thursday’s formal trading session, WTI decreased by 86 cents to settle at $41.02. Domestic crude prices decreased after EIA’s weekly report revealed that total domestic crude inventories decreased by 4.4 million barrels last week to 496 million barrels. Decreasing stocks could signal that supply and demand are beginning to rebalance, even as crude production grew by 900,000 barrels a day last week to 10.9 million barrels a day. Crude prices may continue to increase if supplies grow tighter, but demand challenges could contain potential growth in prices. 

Cobb County gasoline prices

The average price in Cobb County is $1.978, about a penny less than the statewide average. 

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

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.