| Lowest Gas Prices in Chattanooga |
| Chattanooga Gas Prices provided by GasBuddy.com |
Average retail gasoline prices in Chattanooga fell another 5.2 cents per gallon in the past week, starting this week with an average price of $1.92 per gallon, according to GasBuddy's daily survey of 170 gas outlets in Chattanooga released Monday
Chattanooga gas prices averaged 20 cents per gallon less than the U.S. average of $2.12, GasBuddy said.
As oil prices fell Monday morning to new six-year lows, further declines may still be coming, oil analysts said.
Oil prices took another sharp turn downward on Monday, bringing several crude oil benchmarks down by more than 55 percent since June in one of the fastest drops ever for the volatile commodity. The drop left oil at the lowest level since the depths of the 2009 recession as several international banks predicted even lower prices later this year because of an oversupplied global crude market.
Goldman Sachs released a bearish oil report on Sunday night predicting that the American price benchmark, which dropped to about $46 a barrel on Monday, would fall to $41 in three months and $39 in six months -- before recovering to $65 by the end of the year.
"We believe this bear market will likely be characterized by more of a U-shaped recovery in which markets take longer to recover," the Goldman Sachs report said, "and will likely rebound to far lower prices from where they sold off from."
Already, the drop in oil prices has cut Chattanooga gas prices by 43.8 cents in the past month and by nearly $1.16 per gallon from a year ago. According to GasBuddy, the cheapest gas in Chattanooga on Monday continued to be at the Sam's Club on Lee Highway, where regular gas is selling for $1.75 per gallon.
"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.
The average price for diesel fuel in the U.S. also dropped this weekend under $3 a gallon for the first since October 2010, GasBuddy said. The fall in oil prices should push down diesel prices another 25 to 50 cents per gallon, DeHaan said.