Tennessee lawmakers decided last week to add another 6 cents per gallon to the price of gasoline by raising the state gas tax over a 3-year period, but local prices still remain far below the U.S. average.
Even if the 6-cents-per-gallon increase included in Gov. Bill Haslam’s IMPROVE act were in effect today, gas in Chattanooga would still average 25 cents per gallon less than the national average, according to a gas price survey released today.
Despite a continuing increase in gas prices nationwide, the average retail price of a gallon of gas in Chattanooga declined 1.4 cents last week, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 170 gas outlets in Chattanooga released today. The average price of gas in Chattanooga at the start of this week was $2.11 per gallon, or 31 cents per gallon less than the U.S. average.
But Chatanooga gas prices this week are still up by 12.3 cents per gallon in the past month and are 18.7 cents per gallon higher than the same day one year ago, GasBuddy.com surveys show.
Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.com, said the price increases this spring have slowed in the past week and the increase was far less than a year ago, even though prices remain above last year’s level.
“Since mid-February, average gasoline prices have risen 17 cents- a far cry from the 41 cent gain during the same time a year ago,” DeHaan said. “While the annual spring spike remains subdued, prices do remain 28 cents higher than a year ago, nationwide), though the gap has narrowed. Overall, I would be surprised if we see the national average rise substantially more since the deadline for refiners to switch over to summer gasoline is nearly here.”
DeHaan said U.S. oil production numbers are up, keeping pressure on oil prices, while gasoline inventories remain very healthy.