Georgia gas prices steady over past week

ALBANY — Gas prices held steady in Georgia over the past week, while the average moved up about 2.5 cents nationally, according to a pair of extensive market surveys.

Also, AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report, which breaks its report down for Georgia’s eight largest metro areas, found Albany with the second-lowest average gas price at $2.118, a drop of 2.3 cents from the previous Monday morning’s benchmark.

Both AAA and GasBuddy.com’s reports are based on surveys of thousands of retail gas outlets throughout the United States. The surveys found Georgians on Monday were paying about $2.205 a gallon for gas, basically flat compared to the previous week. Nationally, motorists were paying a little more than $2.31, up from $2.286 last week.

“Gasoline prices are starting to pick up steam as a majority of states see their average rise over last week, a function of the season’s theatrics coming into view: refinery maintenance and the transition to cleaner gasoline pumping up prices,” Patrick DeHaan, the senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.com, said.

Market experts for the surveying organizations have said the usual “spring sting” at the gas pump is coming. Over the past five years, the hike in gas pump prices between the traditional February low and Memorial Day weekend has ranged from 30 cents to 75 cents per gallon. The rise is usually attributed to an increase in demand as travel ramps up and a decease in supply as refineries conduct maintenance and shift gas production to summer blend, which is more expensive than winter blend.

“Last week’s price hike is pretty normal for this time of year, and there will likely be more of that to come in the next few months,” Mark Jenkins, a spokesman for AAA Auto Club Group, said. “We normally see prices rise 35-75 cents between March and Memorial Day, due to maintenance season and shifts in supply and demand. However, pump prices will likely remain on the low end of that range this year, unless there is a major upswing in oil prices.”

So far, the spring sting hasn’t been felt in Georgia.

“Some states’ gas prices may slightly lag the upward trend being seen in 38 states as remaining winter gasoline inventories are purged,” DeHaan said. “However, as we grow closer to baseball’s opening day, the nation’s motorists will be more likely to strike out when trying to find $1.99 gas prices, which remain at just 8,000 stations across just a handful of states.

“In a sign of what’s to come in some of the nation’s largest cities, motorists in Southern California have become the first in the lower 48 states to see the ugly ‘3’ showing up on gas station displays at street level.”

According to the Fuel Insights survey, California’s average price Monday was nearing that $3 mark, coming in at $2.993 with more than a dozen counties already averaging $3 or more. The Daily Fuel Gauge Report had the California average at $2.99. Hawaii, at $3.08 on AAA’s survey and $3.093 on GasBuddy’s, was the only state averaging $3 or higher.

In Georgia, the metro area with the lowest average Monday was Augusta, which came in at $2.112 on the Daily Fuel Gauge Report. Atlanta was highest at $2.239.

Compared to last year, prices are substantially higher across the board.

Nationally, an average of the two surveys shows U.S. drivers paying 49.7 cents more per gallon compared to the same date in 2016, which translates to nearly $8 more on a 16-gallon fill-up. In Georgia, the year-to-year increase has been about 47.4 cents per gallon. Metro Albany motorists are paying 42.2 cents more this year, according to the AAA survey.