Year’s end brings lower gas prices

ALBANY — With Old Man Winter expected to drop in just before New Year’s weekend and bring cold temperatures to much of the country, those who are traveling over the final holiday weekend of the year and the ensuing first few weeks of 2018 are likely to find driver-friendly pump prices.

How long the numbers will stay friendly is another question, one that market experts will take a stab at forecasting next week.

Meanwhile, an increase of the nation’s overall average gas price over the past week can be attributed largely to refinery problems in the upper Midwest, market watchers said Tuesday.

“The Great Lakes (area) has seen a flurry of gas price increases over the last week as several refinery issues have surfaced, pulling the national average up nearly single-handedly,” Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, said. “Without such ill-timed disruptions, we’d see a plentiful portion of falling pump prices, but now the bitter taste of rising prices during the holiday lingers for many.

“But with the New Year set to roll in accompanied by a strong cold front, I’d expect gasoline demand to weaken, thus softening the outlook for gas prices in the weeks ahead and eventually delivering lower gas prices.”

Market experts have said that 2018 likely will see higher prices than motorists experienced this year. DeHaan’s organization, which daily surveys thousands of retailers nationwide, is expected to release its forecast on Jan. 3.

“Offering a brief glimpse into 2018: Motorists won’t be loving what they see, but the devil’s in the details,” DeHaan said.

Nationally on Tuesday, GasBuddy and AAA Auto Club Group were about a penny and a half apart on the average cost of gas, with GasBuddy coming in at $2.43 and AAA at $2.444. GasBuddy’s survey says that’s up a half-cent in a week and a drop of 6.9 cents in a month, while AAA had the differences up 2.3 cents in a week and down 6.6 cents in a month. Compared to last year, U.S. drivers Tuesday were paying 14.2-15.7 cents more per gallon.

In Georgia, GasBuddy’s survey had the average Tuesday at $2.262, a penny below what AAA’s survey showed. AAA showed a drop of 0.9 cent in a week and 9.2 cents in a month, while GasBuddy recorded a week-to-week increase of 1.8 cents and a decline of 7.8 cents since last month. The surveys show the state’s drivers paying 8.2-8.5 cents more per gallon than last year.

While the metro Albany area saw an increase from last week — $2.197 compared to last week’s $2.182 — on AAA’s survey, in terms of lowest average price it ranked in the top third of the 15 Georgia metro areas listed on AAA’s report. Georgia drivers were saving 8.8 cents a gallon compared to last month, but were paying 6.8 cents more compared to 2016.

The lowest-priced metro area was Catoosa/Walker/Dade at $2.143, followed by Dalton at $2.162, Rome at $2.177 and Warner Robins at $2.192. The highest average was in Savannah, where drivers were paying $2.342 on Tuesday.