Gasoline prices in Chattanooga fell again last week and with the passing of Tropical Storm Florence fuel prices should drop still further this week, according to gas surveys released today.
In Chattanooga, surveys of 170 local stations by GasBuddy.com showed the average price of regular gas dropped 0.8 cents per gallon to $2.47 per gallon on Sunday. Gas prices locally are down 7 cents a gallon from a year ago and average 37 cents per gallon less than the U.S. average.
“With several areas of tropical weather moving away from the U.S. comes some breathing room for energy markets, with oil prices under pressure as the risk premium subsides, setting the stage for some relief at the gas pump as we progress through the week,” said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. “Despite the tremendous blow and flooding of the Carolinas, Florence’s impact on oil delivery and refinery operations was next to nothing.”
This week marks the first full week of cheaper winter gasoline across most of the country as EPA regulations see their seasonal ease.
“This, coupled with lower demand in the weeks ahead, will push retail gasoline prices lower,” DeHaan said.
In a separate survey released today, AAA also said Hurricane Florence had little, or no, effect on prices at the pump.
“Both the Colonial and Plantation pipelines, which are the primary suppliers of fuel to the lower Atlantic region, were reportedly unaffected by the storm and are running at full capacity,” said Mark Jenkins, spokesman, AAA – The Auto Club Group. “This should help efforts to resupply areas affected by the storm. That’s should help Tennessee remain well supplied with gasoline. Refineries are now preparing to switch to winter-blend gasoline, which is cheaper to produce and normally leads to lower prices at the pump.”
In Tennessee, the least expensive gas price averages continued to be in Cleveland, where regular gas was priced at an average of $2.47 per gallon at the start of the week, and in Chattanooga, where AAA surveys had regular gas averaging $2.51 per gallon.