Gas prices continue to climb, reach new yearly high

ALBANY — After advancing for 24 of the past 25 days, the average price for gasoline in Georgia settled at a new high for the year on Monday, now at $2.371 a gallon, only 3 cents a gallon less than a year ago.

The price in metro Albany ended its meteoric climb in the last week but still went up a penny a gallon to $2.310. Last week prices in the southwest Georgia region had shot up so rapidly, the region’s average was higher than the state’s, according to surveyors AAA-The Auto Club Group and GasBuddy.

But if you’re looking for relief any time soon, fat chance, officials with the surveyors say.

“Gasoline supplies are beginning to tighten as refineries conduct seasonal maintenance and switch to summer-blend gasoline,” Mark Jenkins, a AAA spokesman, said in a news release. “These seasonal factors are likely to keep upward pressure on prices at the pump this week. The state average could rise another 5 cents as a result.”

The Albany area’s relatively small jump over the past week brought it more in line with the state metro areas at the lower end of the cost spectrum. Like metro Albany, MSA’s in Warner Robins, Catoosa-Dade-Walker and Columbus came in around the same $2.31 price range. That’s a far sight less than the three metro areas at the top of the price list: Brunswick at $2.45 a gallon, Hinesville-Fort Stewart at $2.44 and Savannah at $2.41.

According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Georgia was priced at $2.11 a gallon Monday, while the most expensive was $2.99 a gallon, a difference of 88 cents per gallon. The cheapest price in the entire country stands at $1.59 a gallon, while the most expensive is $4.99 a gallon, a difference of $3.40.

The national average price of gasoline rose 4.9 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $2.48 a gallon Monday. That compares to a price of $1.92 a gallon a decade ago in 2009.

“As predicted, gas prices advanced across much of the country for the fourth straight week, even as oil prices held relatively stable at $56 per barrel,” GasBuddy head of petroleum analysis Patrick DeHaan said in a separate news release. “The reason for the continued disconnect remains similar to weeks past: Refinery maintenance is ongoing and eating into supply and production levels, while more expensive, cleaner burning gasoline is now the predominate fuel being produced. This has pushed up wholesale gas prices even as oil remains mostly calm.

“Expect rising prices to knock out the 135 remaining stations in the nation priced at $1.99 per gallon or less, while the number of stations over $3 per gallon will likely grow, mainly out West as the pinch at the pump grows in those areas — the first in the nation to fully move to summer gasoline in the next two weeks.”

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