AAA reported at just after midnight in their weekly press release that Georgia drivers were paying an average of $3.88 per gallon for regular unleaded gasoline. But prices are still climbing at the time of this article’s publication. A spot check by the Courier found Georgia’s prices to now be $3.966 per gallon at 6 a.m.

“Georgia gas price average is approaching $4 per gallon statewide,” said Montrae Waiters, AAA-The Auto Club Group spokeswoman. “Pump prices sharp rise is primarily due to the Ukraine-Russia conflict, which is causing crude oil prices to climb above $100 per barrel.”

Prices in Cobb County

The price of a gallon of regular unleaded in Cobb County is $3.925 at the time of this writing.

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:

Since last Monday, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline has increased by 40 cents to $4.00. Crude prices continue to surge as the conflict between Ukraine and Russia continues to bring uncertainty to the market. To help counter the impact of rising oil prices, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has coordinated a release of 60 million barrels of crude oil from its 31 member countries’ strategic reserves, including the U.S., Germany, Canada, South Korea and Mexico. The announcement of the release did not detail the amount of each contribution from each country, but half of the release – 30 million barrels – is expected to come from the U.S. However, the pricing impact from the announcement has been limited given that the amount of oil is small in comparison to the amount of oil that flows daily from Russia around the globe. According to IEA, Russia exports approximately 5 million barrels a day of crude oil, representing about 12 percent of global trade. The market will likely continue to increase the price of oil as more sanctions are imposed on Russia. A potential ban of crude imports from Russia to the U.S. or other countries will likely cause prices to continue to rise to reflect more risk of disruption to tight global oil supplies.

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.