Cities for cheapest gas
Among 388 metropolitan cities in the U.S., the average price of regular gas this week is lowest in:1. Monroe, La. — $2.04.8 per gallon2. Cleveland, Tenn. — $2.04.9 per gallon3. Lawton, Okla. — $2.07 per gallon4. Lafayette, La. — $208.4 per gallon5. South Haven, Miss. — $2.09 per gallon6. Biloxi, Miss. — $2.10 per gallon7. Chattanooga — $2.10.4 per gallon8. Greenville, S.C. — $2.10.6 per gallon9. Hammond, La. — $2.11.8 per gallon10. Clarksville, Ind. — $2.12 per gallonSource: GasBuddy.com
The cheapest gas in America is in Lookout Valley, just west of downtown Chattanooga, according to a national website that tracks gasoline prices.
The Circle K Exxon station on Cummings Highway, just off Interstate 24, was selling regular gas Monday at $1.73 per gallon, the lowest of any station in the United States. A handful of other Lookout Valley stations also were selling gas below $2 a gallon, even though many of them are apparently losing money at such prices.
"There seems to a price war going on with a number of stations in that area, which is great for motorists and a nice time for people to fill up at stations that seem to be selling gas below their costs," said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy.com, which surveys thousands of stations across the country.
Terri Spurgin, who lives in Higdon, Ala. and works in Chattanooga, said she tries to find the lowest-price station and the cheaper fuel price offered Monday "is a huge advantage," saving her as much as $20 a week in fuel expenses.
"This is great," she said Monday while filling up her Toyota Sequoia in Lookout valley.
The cheapest gas offered at the Circle K Exxon in Lookout Valley was priced nearly 37 cents per gallon below the market average among the 170 stations surveyed by GasBuddy.com.
Chattanooga's average price of just under $2.11 per gallon is still well below the U.S. average of $2.44 per gallon and was down by another 8.6 cents per gallon last year - the sixth consecutive week of declines since Hurricane Harvey pushed up the price of gas.
Average gas prices were even lower at the start of this week in Cleveland, Tenn., where the average price of regular gas fell to below $2.05 per gallon - the second lowest metro area in the country for regular gas behind only Monroe, La., GasBuddy.com said.
But in Lookout Valley, a number of stations continue to try to undercut one another, driving prices to anywhere from 20 to 30 cents below their actual costs, DeHaan said.
"These kind of price wars become a kind of one-upmanship with each station trying to flex their proverbial muscle," DeHaan said. "It could be a little big of gas rage, not road wage, going on. You undercut your competition to steal his customers and make him angry. Inevitably, prices will go up because these kind of price wars can't go on forever."
Across the country, gas prices have declined steadily since late August and could drop a bit more, although OPEC is trying to shore up oil prices this fall.
"The national average has now remained under $3 per gallon for nearly three years, or 1,087 days as the days of cheap oil have continued," DeHaan said. "While recent actions from OPEC may cause oil prices to hold above the key $50 per barrel level, there is no threat of a quick return to the $3 per gallon days. In fact, the national average may continue to decline for a few weeks before leveling off as gasoline inventories continue to heal after Harvey."
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6340.