| Lowest Gas Prices in Chattanooga |
| Chattanooga Gas Prices provided by GasBuddy.com |
On one of the busiest travel days of the year, gasoline prices in Chattanooga fell Sunday to their lowest levels in all of 2015 and remained among the lowest in the country.
The average price of regular gas in Chattanooga dropped by 4.6 cents per gallon in the past week to $1.78 per gallon, according to a GasBuddy.com survey of 170 local stations. The gasoline price website said Monday that Chattanooga gas prices fell more than the nationwide decline over the past week and averaged 26 cents per gallon less than the U.S. average.
On Monday, gas was selling as low as $1.63 per gallon at the BP station on Amnicola Highway - the lowest in the region, according to GasBuddy.com.
"This price is incredible - the lowest I've seen in a long time," Terry Keesler said Monday while filling up his 2013 Nissan Versa. "It's putting extra money in my pocket."
Keesler travels 41 miles every day from his home on Sand Mountain to his job in Chattanooga. He and his daughter typically drive 500 miles a week, which is why Keesler bought his Nissan to replace the Chevy Tahoe he used to drive until gas prices spiked two years ago.
Jan Rogers said finding gas prices so low at the BP station was like an early Christmas present.
"This is great," she said. "I'm going to tell my daughter who travels this same road about it."
Gasbuddy.com said Chattanooga gas prices at most stations are below those in nearby cities. Gas prices averaged $1.87 per gallon in Knoxville, down 3.1 cents from the previous week, and averaged $1.86 in Huntsville, Ala., down 0.5 cents in the past week.
Chattanooga motorists are enjoying gas prices nearly 70 cents a gallon less than a year ago. Local gas prices in Chattanooga have dropped 73 cents per gallon from the average high of $2.51 per gallon reached in June - the highest point of the year for fuel prices. That saves the average motorist more than $10 a week in fuel expenses.
"Gasoline prices over the weekend and holiday were certainly quite cheap compared to prior years and other holidays this year," said Patrick DeHaan, GasBuddy senior petroleum analyst.
Sunday was one of the busiest travel days of the year with many of the 42 million Americans who headed out of town for the Thanksiving weekend returning home. Gas prices over the weekend were the lowest for any Thanksgiving since 2008, according to an AAA fuel gauge survey.
DeHaan said the price outlook for gas in the final month of 2015 will depend upon both driving levels and OPEC production.
"While some cities and states may see some slight bumps at the pump in the days ahead thanks to the fallout of the downing of a Russian fighter jet last week, we're more focused on the upcoming OPEC meeting this coming weekend and the potential implications from any major change in oil production," he said. "There are expectations that OPEC will continue to kick the can down the road and not change production levels. If there are surprises either way, it could definitely be felt at the pump and into 2016."
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 757-6340.