Gas prices in Chattanooga fell another 3.3 cents per gallon, on average, last week, cutting the local cost of refueling your vehicle by an average of 13.8 cents per gallon in the past month, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 170 gas outlets in Chattanooga.
But gas prices are still up from a year ago and analysts expect the recent drop in prices at he pump could be reversed as the spring driving season approaches.
The average retail price of regular gas in Chattanooga Sunday was $2.22 per gallon, or 28 cents per gallon below the U.S. average of $2.50 a gallon. Despite the drop in prices over the past three weeks, Chattanooga gas prices are still up by an average of 19,2 cents per gallon from a year ago and are up 75 cents per gallon above the local price of two years ago.
Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, said gas prices declined despite higher oil prices in recent weeks but that trend is likely to soon be reversed.
“March typically comes in more like a lamb and goes out like a lion, and I certainly would expect more fireworks at the pump as temperatures begin to warm and gasoline demand begins to perk up,” DeHaan said in a report today. “Unlike the transition from summer to winter gasoline that is much simpler, the transition to the more strict fuel coming into the regulated summer months is a bit trickier, especially considering the amount of work going into refineries ahead of the summer driving season, which is more like the running of the bulls where refineries try to stay ahead of the rise in demand. No matter what happens with oil, any curve ball to this work has a tendency to act as a spark in the combustion process- something will likely ignite gas prices, but it’s unpredictable when and to what degree.”
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