According to a press release from Montrae Waiters, spokeswoman for AAA – The Auto Club Group, Georgia prices at the pump have only seen a one cent increase over the past week, unlike the big jumps of the past previous recent weeks.

According to AAA, Georgia drivers are now paying an average of $2.58 per gallon for regular unleaded gasoline. This morning’s  state average is one cent more than a week ago, 30 cents over last month, and 37 cents more than last year.

“A modest increase at the pump for Georgia motorists this week,” said Waiters. “Rising crude prices contributed to the increase this week. As a result, pump prices will likely continue to increase through the end of the month.”

The press release from AAA gave the following explanation for the continuting upward trend:

Since last Monday, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline has increased by 5 cents to $2.76. Rising crude prices, tightening gas supplies, and increased gas demand have contributed to drivers seeing higher prices at the pump. According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), total domestic gas stocks decreased by 13.6 million barrels to 243.5 million barrels, as demand increased from 7.2 million barrels a day to 8.15 million barrels a day last week. If these trends continue alongside higher crude prices, drivers can expect incremental price increases — of at least nickel — at their local gas stations in March.

At the close of last Thursday’s formal trading session, WTI increased by $2.55 to settle at $63.83. Crude prices increased this week after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided with its allies, including Russia, to maintain existing crude production cuts of 7 million barrels a day through April. Additionally, Saudi Arabia — a member of OPEC — agreed to extend its voluntary production cut of 1 million barrels a day by one month. Crude prices have increased despite EIA’s latest weekly report revealing that total domestic inventories grew by 21.6 million barrels to 484.6 million barrels last week.

Cobb County gasoline prices

The average price in Cobb County is $2.576, about the same as 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.