Cheapest gas cities
1. Aiken, S.C. - $1.86 per gallon 2. Spartanburg, S.C. - $186.5 per gallon 3. Greenville, S.C. - $1.87 per gallon 4. Tulsa, Okla. - $1.87 per gallon 5. Chattanooga - $1.89 per gallon 6. Cleveland, Tenn. - $1.89 per gallon 7. Florence, S.C. - $1.89 per gallon 8. Amarillo, Texas - $1.91 per gallon 9. Rock Hill, S.C. - $1.91 per gallon 10. Myrtle Beach, S.C. - $1.91 per gallon Source: GasBuddy.com
Chattanooga motorists are enjoying some of the lowest gas prices in the country, with the average price of fuel dropping last week to 35 cents per gallon below the U.S. average.
The online gas reporting service GasBuddy.com reported Monday that the average price of regular gas in Chattanooga fell another 4.7 cents per gallon last week, cutting the average price to the fifth lowest of any U.S. city. Cleveland, Tenn., ranked No. 6 among U.S. cities for the cheapest gas, with an average price at the pump averaging a mere one-hundredth of a cent more than the average among Chattanooga gas stations.
Chattanooga's average fuel price this week is $1.89 per gallon, according to GasBuddy's daily survey of 170 gas outlets in Chattanooga.
Patrick DeHaan, a senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.com, said Monday that fuel prices are cheaper in Southeast Tennessee because of plentiful supplies from pipelines and a refinery in West Tennessee.
"The level of inventories plays a direct role in pricing," DeHaan said. "More supply equals cheaper prices."
DeHaan also said that like South Carolina, where gas is now the cheapest in the country, gas taxes are less in Tennessee than in most states.
Chattanooga gas prices, which have fallen 28.7 cents per gallon over the past month, are now nearly 20 percent below the U.S. average of $2.23 per gallon. Statewide, Tennessee gas prices average $2.02 per gallon, or 14 cents per gallon higher than in Chattanooga and Cleveland.
Gas prices fell last week even in the face of a record number of motorists traveling during the holiday vacation week, which typically pushes fuel costs higher.
"Even an uptick in demand for gasoline during the Fourth of July weekend couldn't slow falling retail gasoline prices," said Will Speer, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.
Gas prices are still up in Chattanooga by 44 cents per gallon from the low reached in February, however. But local prices at the pump remain 52.2 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.
Gas prices dropped to only $1.76 per gallon at the Sam's Club on Lee Highway - the cheapest price in the area, according to GasBuddy.com.
Gas prices are the result of cheaper oil, which continued to fall in trading Monday, dropping another 4 cents per barrel to $44.72 per barrel in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.