Gas prices continue upward spiral

UNDATED - Gas prices in Georgia increased another four cents last week, on average, and, since the first of the year, have now risen 20 cents.

AAA Auto Club South says the average price for regular unleaded Monday morning was $1.73. In the Gainesville area, according to gasbuddy.com, the cheapest prices are in Cornelia ($1.62 at one outlet); Suwanee ($163 at one station); and, Winder ($1.64 at one outlet). In Hall County, one outlet in Gainesville had it for $1.68, which gasbuddy.com reported as the lowest in the county.

AAA says for the third consecutive week crude oil prices have declined and retail gasoline prices drifted higher. Consumer demand remains weak and supply is so ample that offshore oil tankers are carrying millions of barrels of crude oil and going nowhere.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) crude oil closed Friday, Jan. 2 at $46.34 per barrel; the following week on Jan. 9 at $40.83; and on this past Friday, Jan. 16, at $36.51 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX).

Over the same period, when crude oil decreased by $9.83 per barrel, the national average price of gasoline increased 19-cents per gallon. In Auto Club South territory both Florida’s and Tennessee’s average price rose by 22 cents from Jan. 2 to Jan. 16; Georgia’s rose by 20 cents.

“The oil market we see now is in ‘contango’ and that refers to occasions when the current month’s (Feb.) future price is trading lower than the futures price for the following month,” said Gregg Laskoski, managing director of public relations, AAA Auto Club South. “In other words, February’s future price closed Friday at $36.51 per barrel, but the March oil futures price on the same day reached more than $42 per barrel.”

Nonetheless, the market’s twists and turns are not enough to explain the rising retail prices with no evidence of concurrent increases in wholesale prices. “We still expect to see retail prices decline and that should happen soon. There is no plausible explanation for the consistent rise in retail prices given the supply and demand fundamentals, and most importantly, the low price range where crude oil has traded for the last three weeks,” said Laskoski.

CURRENT AND PAST PRICE AVERAGES

Regular Unleaded Gasoline



Current Week Ago Month Ago Year Ago

National: $1.839 $1.792 $1.773 $3.095

Florida: $1.887 $1.833 $1.828 $3.147

Georgia: $1.728 $1.689 $1.709 $3.058

Tennessee: $1.710 $1.658 $1.641 $2.984

AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report (fuelgaugereport.com) is updated each day and is the most comprehensive; reflecting actual prices from credit card transactions within the past 24 hours at two-thirds (100,000 stations) of the gasoline stations in the U.S. Its accuracy is unparalleled.

How much are you paying for gasoline taxes in Florida/Georgia/Tennessee? Use this link: http://www.aaasouth.com/acs_news/gas_taxes.asp to find out.

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Also On the Net:

gasbuddy.com http://www.gasbuddy.com