Chattanooga area gas prices drop 7.1 cents in the past week

The average price of gasoline fell 7.1 cents per gallon in Chattanooga over the past week as local prices at the pump declined for a second straight week, according to GasBuddy's daily survey of 170 gas outlets in Chattanooga.

The average price of $1.83 per gallon among Chattanooga service stations was down 15 cents per gallon from the peak level reached in last March but was still 39 cents per gallon above the yearly low reached in February.

Chattanooga's price drop was bigger than the nationwide drop of 1.2 cents per gallon in the past week and local prices average 19 cents per gallon below the U.S. average $2.04 per gallon, GasBuddy.com surveys show.

"It's especially rare in April to see the average price of gasoline dead even or slightly lower in some places than where it was in the prior week and as encouraging as that news certainly is for U.S. motorists, unfortunately, it's more of an anomaly than a trend. But it's still a very good harbinger of the savings 2016 is expected to bring," said Gregg Laskoski, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.

"What caused it? We've been fortunate that 2016 delivered a successful and largely uneventful transition by refineries to the 'summer blend' fuel formulation which has been completed in California and is nearing completion almost everywhere else. Concurrent output through March and early April matches levels not seen since 2005," Laskoski added. "So the healthy inventory in advance of demand has helped flatten prices, but we don't expect that to last when summer travel kicks into high gear."

Prices today are as low as $1.69 per gallon at 14 area gas stations scattered across Chattanooga, according to GasBuddy.com.

Including the change in gas prices in Chattanooga during the past week, prices Sunday were 19.9 cents per gallon lower than the same day one year ago and are 12 cents per gallon higher than a month ago. The national average has increased 15.6 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 34.9 cents per gallon lower than this day one year ago.