Gasoline prices fell for a second consecutive week last week after reaching historic highs earlier this month, and local motorists may experience even less pain at the pump after oil prices fell again Monday.
The gasoline pricing website Gasbuddy.com said Monday that the average price of regular fuel in Chattanooga dropped another 3.5 cents a gallon in the past week to $3.95 a gallon, according to a survey of 170 stations in Chattanooga. Despite the drop in prices from the $4.07-per-gallon high reached in early March, gas prices in Chattanooga are still 50.3 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and stand $1.37 per gallon higher than a year ago.
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Nationwide, gas prices were unchanged in the past week at $4.23 a gallon, Gasbuddy.com said.
“The decline we’ve seen in average gas prices has been slowing down, as oil prices have held above $100 after declining under that level as recently as a few weeks ago,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said in a report Monday. “For the near future, we’ll see a mix of slight decreases and some potential increases mixed in.”
De Haan said “there’s no telling what’s around the corner” due to the volatility of the energy markets amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, which has disrupted global oil flows.
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On Monday, oil prices slid 7% to $105.96 a barrel – a further decline from the $123.70-per-barrel high reached earlier this month – as new COVID-19 restrictions imposed in China are expected to limit travel and global oil demand.
“China is a big fear factor right now,” Michael Tran, managing director of global energy strategy at RBC Capital Markets, told CNN. “To have this market firing on all cylinders, you need China. China is the biggest cylinder.”
China is the largest oil importer in the world.
– Compiled by Dave Flessner