Chattanooga gas prices stable

Chattanooga gas prices remained stable during the busy Thanksgiving holiday travel week this year despite a slight dip in fuel prices nationwide.

Among 170 local service stations surveyed Sunday by Gasbuddy.com, the average price of gas was $1.85 per gallon, unchanged from a week earlier. This compares with the national average that fell 1.3 cents per gallon in the last week to $2.12 per gallon, GasBuddy said in a report today.

Chattanooga gas prices dropped by 10.4 cents per gallon in the past month but are still 6.3 cents per gallon higher than the same day one year ago.

GasBuddy oil analysts said that fuel prices typically don't increase in December, although oil producing nations are trying to curb production to boost prices.

"Early last week WTI (West Texas Intermediate) crude had climbed above $48 (per barrel) but was unable to hold on and in late trading Friday had slipped below $46," said Gregg Laskoski, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy. "And that probably ties directly to doubts about Iraq, Iran and the likelihood that Russia, the largest non-OPEC oil exporter, will agree only to a freeze and not a production cut of its own, which OPEC says is essential for the cartel to implement its plan to cut back by 1 million barrels per day.

Laskoski said he expects this week's meeting among OPEC members Wednesday in Vienna could be fortuitous for U.S. consumers if no agreement is reached.

"Prices at the pump generally fall in December," he said. " In the last four years we've seen the U.S. average price of gas increase just once in December (in 2013)."

In the past four years, the average decline from Dec. 1 to Dec. 31 has been 15 cents per gallon "and I'd have to think most of us would be pretty happy with that," Laskoski added.