Georgia motorists experienced a sharp rise in prices at the gas pump over the past week, continuing the trend of the past two weeks.

According to the weekly press release from Montrae Waiters, the spokeswoman for AAA – The Auto Club Group, Georgia drivers are now paying an average of $3.15 per gallon for regular unleaded gasoline.

“The key driver for the rise of gas prices is crude oil, which typically accounts for between 50% and 60% of the price at the pump,” said Waiters. “Unfortunately, it’s still too early to tell when Georgians will see some type of relief regarding gas prices this season.”

Prices in Cobb County

The price of a gallon of regular unleaded in Cobb County is $3.148 at the time of this article’s publication, 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.

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 $3.19. According to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), total domestic gasoline stocks decreased by 2 million barrels to 223.1 million barrels last week. Gasoline demand also fell from 9.43 million barrels a day to 9.19 million barrels a day. Typically, lower demand alongside a decline in stocks would result in downward market pressure on pump prices. But high crude prices (above $80 per barrel) remain the main culprit for rising pump prices. As crude prices remain elevated, pump prices will likely follow suit. 

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.