According to a press release from Montrae Waiters, spokeswoman for AAA – The Auto Club Group, Georgia prices at the pump have taken another big jump over the past week.

The price of gasoline in the state averages $2.69 per gallon for regular unleaded. 

According to the press release, “Monday’s state average is 11 cents more than a week ago, 36 cents more than last month, and 59 cents more than this time last year.”

“Nearly every state average has climbed by double-digits since February resulting in 1 in 10 gas stations with pump prices that are $3/gallon or more,” said Waiters. “Even though Georgia pump prices are trending upward we have remained below that threshold.”

Why are prices rising so fast?

AAA gave the following reasons for the rapid rise in gasoline prices, not just in Georgia, but nationally:

Since last Monday, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline has increased by 9 cents to $2.85. Rising crude prices, tightening gas supplies, and increased gas demand continue to drive pump prices to higher ground. According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), total domestic gas stocks decreased by 11.9 million barrels to 231.6 million barrels, as demand increased from 8.15 million barrels a day to 8.73 million barrels a day last week. Last week’s demand measurement is the highest since the end of November 2020. If these trends continue alongside higher crude prices, drivers can expect pump prices to increase through the week.

At the close of last Thursday’s formal trading session, WTI increased by $1.58 to settle at $66.02. Market optimism about crude demand recovery continues to push crude prices higher. As vaccines continue to rollout and optimism grows, the market is likely to continue seeing higher crude prices. Crude prices will likely the end week higher despite EIA’s latest weekly report revealing that crude inventories increased by 13.8 million to 498.4 million barrels.

Cobb County gasoline prices

The average price in Cobb County is $2.665, about two cents 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.