The price Georgia drivers pay for fuel jumped 4 cents over the past week, and are likely to remain high through the summer driving season.

According to the weekly press release from Montrae Waiters the spokeswoman from AAA – The Auto Club Group, Georgia drivers are now paying an average of $2.97 per gallon for regular unleaded.

Also, this morning’s  statewide average is 7 cents more than last month and 96 cents more than this time last year.

“Peak summer driving season is in full-swing as Americans hit the road and gas prices are not backing down,” said Waiters. “Georgians are paying, on average, nearly a dollar more a gallon than last summer to fill up at the pump.”

How do Cobb County gasoline prices compare?

The price of a gallon of regular unleaded in Cobb County is $3.00 at the time of this writing, about three cents more expensive 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.

What are the national trends in gasoline prices?

According to the weekly report from AAA:

Since Monday, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline has increased by 2 cents to $3.16. In its latest weekly report, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that gas demand decreased from an all-time high of 10.04 million barrels a day to 9.28 million barrels a day last week.

The decrease, alongside a 1 million barrels increase in total domestic gasoline stocks to 236.5 million, has helped to slow pump price increases. However, with oil prices above $70 per barrel, pump prices will likely remain high (above $3 per gallon) throughout the busy summer driving season.

How does AAA determine gas prices?

According to AAA:

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.