Gasoline prices in Georgia, and in Cobb County, remained steady over the past two weeks.

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.

“While it is typical to see gas prices increase during the summer months, Georgia pump prices continue to trend under $3 per gallon,” said Waiters.

Gasoline prices in Cobb County

The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded in Cobb County is $2.997 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.

National trends in oil and gasoline prices

According the the weekly report from AAA:

Since Monday, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline has increased by a penny to $3.17. In its latest weekly report, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that gas demand increased nominally from 9.30 million barrels a day to 9.33 million barrels a day last week. Additionally, total domestic gas stocks declined by 2.3 million barrels to 234.2 million barrels. These trends have helped to stabilize price increases; however, crude oil prices continue to remain above $70 per barrel. As crude prices remain high, AAA expects the national average to remain above $3 per gallon throughout the summer.

OIL MARKET DYNAMICS

At the close of last Thursday’s formal trading session, WTI increased by $1.23 to settle at $73.62. A weaker dollar has helped to push prices up today, while market concerns surrounding demand recovery continue to grow. Crude prices were also bolstered after EIA’s latest report showed that total domestic crude stocks declined by 4.1 million barrels to 435.6 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.