As the Independence Day holiday nears, gasoline prices in Georgia have increased two cents a gallon in the past week. Georgia motorists are paying an average price of $2.91 per gallon for regular unleaded gasoline. Monday’s state average is two cents more than a week ago, one cent less than last month and 93 cents more than this time last year.
It costs Georgia motorists $43.65 to fill a 15-gallon tank of gasoline; that is $6.75 more than what motorists paid in January of 2020 when pump prices hit their peak of $2.46 per gallon.
“Despite the latest increase in demand, Georgia motorists are not seeing significant pump price jumps due to increasing stock levels, which have significantly built over the last four weeks,” said Garrett Townsend, AAA-The Auto Club Group Public Affairs Director. “Drivers may see higher pump prices, however, as stocks increase ahead of the Independence Day holiday weekend.”
NATIONAL AVERAGE REMAINS HIGH AS GAS DEMAND GROWS
Since Monday, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline has held steady at $3.07. In its latest weekly report, new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed that gas demand increased from 9.36 million barrels a day to 9.44 million barrels a day, while total domestic gas stocks decreased by 3 million barrels to 240 million barrels. With supply and gas demand in sync for now, drivers are likely to see minimal fluctuations in prices through the weekend. However, increasing crude prices, while gas demand remains high, are likely to push pump prices higher ahead of the Independence Day holiday weekend. For the holiday, AAA expects 43 million Americans will drive to their destinations. That is the highest on record for this holiday and 5% more than the previous record in 2019.
OIL MARKET DYNAMICS
At the close of last Thursday’s formal trading session, WTI increased by 22 cents to settle at $73.30. Crude prices continue to ascend due to optimism that vaccine rollout will continue to help crude demand recover. In fact, the price of crude crossed the $73 per barrel threshold this week for the first time in nearly three years. Daily crude prices have not been this high since October 2018. Additionally, crude prices were bolstered by EIA’s latest report revealing that total domestic crude supplies decreased by 7.6 million barrels to 459.1 million barrels last week.
REGIONAL PRICES
- Most expensive Georgia metro markets – Hinesville – Fort Stewart ($2.97), Savannah ($2.96), and Atlanta ($2.93).
- Least expensive Georgia metro markets – Catoosa-Dade-Walker ($2.83), Columbus ($2.84), and Augusta - Aiken ($2.86).
- The average pump price in Hall County is $2.89, a penny higher than this time last week.
