Gas, oil prices fall to 6-year low

Gas prices tile
Gas prices tile

Average retail gasoline prices in Chattanooga fell another 5.2 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $1.92 per gallon on Sunday, according to GasBuddy's daily survey of 170 gas outlets in Chattanooga released today.

Chattanooga gas prices on Sunday averaged 20 cents per gallon less than the U.S. average of $2.12, GasBuddy said. The cheapest gas in the Chattanooga area today continues to be at the Sam's Club on Lee Highway, where regular gas is priced at $1.76 per gallon.

As oil prices fell this morning to new 6-year lows, further declines may still be coming, oil analysts said today.

Gasoline prices in Chattanooga have dropped by 43.8 cents in the past month and by nearly $1.16 per gallon from a year ago.

"All in all, it wasn't a bad week for motorists filling their tanks," said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst with GasBuddy. "The national average currently stands at its lowest since May 9, 2009, a date that saw 8.9 percent unemployment and Phil Jackson coaching the Los Angeles Lakers toward the NBA title."

GasBuddy now counts 12,000 gas stations selling gas under $2 per gallon, representing more than 45 percent of all stations in the country.

Diesel fuel in the U.S. also dropped this weekend under $3 a gallon for the first since since October 2010, GasBuddy said. The fall in oil prices should push down diesel prices another 25 to 50 cents per gallon, DeHaan said.

U.S. crude for February was down $1.13 this morning to $47.23 per barrel and the February Brent contract was down $1.31 to$48.80 a barrel. Both hit their lowest since April 2009.

Goldman Sachs today lowered its three-month price forecast for Brent to $42 a barrel from $80 and cut U.S. crude to $41 from $70.

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