Georgia gasoline prices remained roughly steady at around $2.00 per gallon, about one cent higher than this time last week.

Today’s state average for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is 1 cent more than a week ago, 2 cents less than last month, and 56 cents less than this time last year.

“Georgians see a modest increase at the pump this week,” said Montrae Waiters, spokeswoman, AAA – The Auto Club Group. “The uptick in demand has helped to lift gas prices, which continue to trend lower than what consumers paid a year ago.”

What about Cobb County prices?

The average price in Cobb County as of this morning is $1.99 per gallon, a cent 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.

Why did prices rise slightly?

According to AAA the slight rise in price nationally was due to an equally slight rise in demand.

The press release from AAA states:

Since last Monday, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline has increased by 1 cent to $2.19. In the new weekly report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand saw a slight uptick to 8.52 million barrels a day from 8.48 million barrels a day. The slight growth in demand, alongside total domestic stocks falling by 4 million barrels to 227.5 million barrels, has led to increases in pump prices. If demand continues to grow, pump prices could continue to climb. However, as the nation settles into fall, demand will likely decline as drivers take fewer road trips.

Crude oil prices increased too

The benchmark for oil prices is West Texas Intermediate, or WTI. It’s a high quality, easily refinable grade of oil mostly produced in Texas.

The press release states:

At the close of last Thursday’s formal trading session, WTI increased by 38 cents to settle at $40.31. Domestic crude prices increased after EIA’s weekly report revealed that total domestic crude inventories decreased by 1.6 million barrels last week to 494.4 million barrels. Decreasing stocks could signal that supply and demand are rebalancing, while crude production decreased by 200,000 barrels a day last week to 10.7 million barrels a day. Crude prices may continue to increase if supplies grow tighter, but demand challenges could contain potential growth in prices.   

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.