Respite in gas pump prices expected to be brief

ALBANY — Gas pump prices dipped slightly over the past week, but movement in that direction isn’t expected to continue long.

Nationally, GasBuddy.com’s nationwide survey of gas retailers had the national average Monday down just under a penny from the previous Monday, while AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Reports’ survey had the difference at down 1.2 cents. Both surveys had Georgia at a $2 per gallon average, down 3.2 cents (AAA) to 3.8 cents (GasBuddy) in a week.

“It’s especially rare in April to see the average price of gasoline dead even or slightly lower in some places than where it was in the prior week … and as encouraging as that news certainly is for U.S. motorists, unfortunately, it’s more of an anomaly than a trend,” said Gregg Laskoski, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy. “But it’s still a very good harbinger of the savings 2016 is expected to bring.”

Mark Jenkins, spokesman for AAA Auto Club Group, had a similar outlook on the market.

“Motorists filling their gas tanks got a brief reprieve from rising prices, thanks to a dip in oil prices early last week,” Jenkins said. “But oil finished the week $4 higher than it started, which could cause pump prices to climb again in the near future.”

AAA had Monday’s national average at $2.044, lower than GasBuddy’s $2.052. That’s 15.8-15.9 cents higher than a month ago, depending on the survey. Both surveys have U.S. motorists spending just under a quarter a gallon less than they were a year ago.

Georgia motorists, meanwhile, are spending 16.8-17.2 cents more a gallon than last month, depending on the survey, while saving just under 25 cents per gallon compared to last year.

Laskoski said several factors combined to provide the gas pump respite, which came at spring break for many areas.

“What caused it?” he said. “We’ve been fortunate that 2016 delivered a successful and largely uneventful transition by refineries to the ‘summer blend’ fuel formulation which has been completed in California and is nearing completion almost everywhere else. Concurrent output through March and early April matches levels not seen since 2005.

“So the healthy inventory in advance of demand has helped flatten prices, but we don’t expect that to last when summer travel kicks into high gear.”

AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report also provides averages for Georgia’s eight metro areas, including Albany, which was third-lowest in the state Monday at $1.929 per gallon. That average was 2.7 cents below April 4, but up 10.6 cents from last month. Compared to the same date in 2015, Albany motorists are saving 30.2 cents per gallon.

The lowest average price for the state’s metro areas Monday was Augusta at $1.896, followed by Macon at $1.925. Two metro areas were averaging above $2 a gallon. The Savannah metro area was at $2.007, while the state’s highest average cost was in metro Atlanta at $2.042.