Georgia gasoline prices edged slightly downward over the past week, although only by a penny.

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 $2.96 per gallon for regular unleaded gasoline.

“Georgia pump prices remain steady across the state,” said Montrae Waiters, spokeswoman AAA-The Auto Club Group. “Although Georgia gas price average remains under $3 per gallon for the most part, AAA expects the national average to remain above that price point.”

How do prices in Cobb County compare?

The price of a gallon of regular unleaded in Cobb County is $2.97 at the time of this writing, about one cent more 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?

AAA’s weekly report stated the following about national gas and oil trends:

The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline is $3.18. In its last weekly report, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that gas demand dropped from 9.78 million barrels a day to 9.43 million barrels a day. Last week’s demand measurement is 500,000 barrels a day lower than the rate at this time in 2019, signaling that summer gas demand is likely softening as the school year starts, in addition to COVID concerns. Additionally, total domestic gas stocks declined by 1.3 million barrels to 227.5 million barrels. The drop in demand has helped to minimize pump price increases, but elevated crude prices continue to keep summer pump prices high. As crude prices remain high, though back below $70 barrels. 

OIL MARKET DYNAMICS

At the close of last Thursday’s formal trading session, WTI decreased by 16 cents to settle at $69.09. Crude prices have declined slightly this week due to market concerns that crude demand may not rebound this year as anticipated due to surging coronavirus infection rates across the globe. Price decreases have occurred despite EIA’s latest report showing that total domestic crude stocks decreased nominally to 438.8 million barrels last week.

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.