Chattanooga gas prices drop in the past week despite a nationwide increase

Staff File Photo by Matt Hamilton / A motorist pumps gas at the Sam's Club Fuel Center on Lee Highway on Monday, March 7, 2022 in Chattanooga.
Staff File Photo by Matt Hamilton / A motorist pumps gas at the Sam's Club Fuel Center on Lee Highway on Monday, March 7, 2022 in Chattanooga.

After steadily declining from the peak prices reached in June, the nationwide average price of gasoline fell in the past week after 14 weeks of sustained declines, the online gas price reporting website GasBuddy.com reported Monday.

The average fuel price nationwide rose 3.2 cents a gallon to $3.67 a gallon, GasBuddy reported.

But despite the nationwide increase, gas prices fell in the past week in Chattanooga and averaged 62 cents a gallon less than the national average price and 9 cents a gallon below the statewide average for all of Tennessee.

Among the 170 local stations surveyed by GasBuddy.com, average gasoline prices in Chattanooga fell 9.2 cents per gallon in the past week to $3.05 per gallon. Prices in Chattanooga are 30.4 cents per gallon lower than a month ago but are still 23.4 cents per gallon higher than a year ago.

The cheapest gas in Chattanooga on Monday was at Sam's Club on Lee Highway, where regular gas is being sold at $2.75 a gallon, the second lowest gas station price anywhere in Tennessee, behind only a station in Newport, Tennessee.

The differing direction of gas prices locally and across the nation reflect widespread geographic differences, according to Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.

"I don't know that I've ever seen a wider gamut of price behaviors coast to coast in my career," De Haan said in a statement Monday. "A slew of unexpected refinery disruptions, including fires and routine maintenance, have seemingly all happened in a short span of time, causing wholesale gas prices to spike in areas of the West Coast, Great Lakes and Plains states -- and some of those areas could see prices spike another 25-75 cents per gallon or more until issues are worked out."

De Haan said as Hurricane Ian approaches Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, some refiners could see limited disruption.

"Hopefully, disruptions will be very limited due to Ian, but there remain many factors driving prices both up and down across the country," he said.

The national average price of diesel has declined 5.1 cents in the past week and stands at $4.88 per gallon, according to GasBuddy.com. 

-- Compiled by Dave Flessner


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