With gas prices at the lowest price in 18 months, motorists will start 2019 with the lowest gas prices at the start of the year since Jan. 1, 2016, according to a new survey of gas stations by AAA.
Among Tennessee’s major cities, Chattanooga continues to offer the cheapest gas prices in the state. Gas prices in Chattanooga now average $1.87 a gallon, or 16 cents per gallon below the statewide average in Tennessee and 42 cents per gallon below the U.S. average.
According to a separate survey by GasBuddy.com, the Mapco station on Ringgold Road in East Ridge is offering the cheapest gas in Tennessee today at $1.74 a gallon.
“Falling gas prices continue to be ‘the gift that keeps giving’ this holiday season,” Mark Jenkins, a spokesman for AAA – The Auto Club Group, said in a report today. “Prices at the pump declined as AAA projected last week, largely due to weakness in the stock market and concerns about global crude oversupply. Although oil and gasoline futures have been on a rollercoaster ride this week, wholesale gas prices have held steady. Unless oil prices suddenly spike, prices at the pump should remain low through the end of the year.”
Nationwide, Americans are finding gas prices below $2 a gallon at 31 percent of filling stations, while 63 percent of Tennessee’s gas stations are selling regular gas below $2 a gallon, according to AAA.
Since mid-October, the national average has plummeted a total of 61 cents. Thursday’s average price of $2.29 per gallon is the lowest since July 2017.
The highest average gas price in the state is now in Nashville where regular gas is selling at an average of $2.14 a gallon.
Thursday’s state average price was the lowest daily average price since July 2017. It’s possible the state average could dip below $2 a gallon before the new year, Jenkins said.
Lower gas prices are saving the Americans $225 million a day compared to what they spent three months ago, according to GasBuddy.com.
| Lowest Gas Prices in Chattanooga |
| Chattanooga Gas Prices provided by GasBuddy.com |