Gas prices should decline and fuel supplies grow this week with the return of gasoline supplies from the Colonial Pipeline that refuels gas stations across the 12 Southeastern states that suffered supply interruptions last week.
But on Monday, the online gasoline reporting service GasBuddy reported 38% of service stations in Chattanooga were still without gas and 24.4% of all gas stations in Tennessee were without fuel.
The shortages boosted gas prices last week to their highest level in Chattanooga since 2014, according to GasBuddy's surveys of 170 local stations.
Chattanooga gas prices jumped by an average of 13.4 cents per gallon in the past week to $2.78 a gallon. Chattanooga gas prices are $1.19 per gallon more than they were a year ago at this time when the pandemic shut down much of the travel industry.
Despite the jump in local prices at the pump, Chattanooga gas prices still averaged 25 cents a gallon less than the U.S. average of $3.03 a gallon, GasBuddy said.
On Sunday, half of the 10 cheapest gas stations in Tenessee were either in Chattanooga or neighboring Cleveland, including Sam's Club on Lee Highway where regular gas is selling at $2.44 per gallon.
"With the pipeline now back in service, I expect prices to come down in the hardest hit states, specifically the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida and Virginia," said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. "The drops should lead the national average to soon fall back under the $3 per gallon mark, but motorists shouldn't get too excited. Prices may start to head higher in a few weeks should Memorial Day gasoline demand be red hot."
DeHaan said gas shortages should ease this week, especially in the next few days when gasoline demand tends to be lowest.
"I'm optimistic that there will be enough recovery by Memorial Day for motorists in these states to fill up without having to search for gasoline," he said.
- Compiled by Dave Flessner
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| Chattanooga Gas Prices provided by GasBuddy.com |