By Katie Northcott, News Director
In a press release on Monday, Jan. 19, the American Automobile Association said gas prices had gone up five cents on average.
The full press release is published below.
Gas prices across the state fluctuated higher last week, rising five cents, on average. The Tennessee Gas Price average is now $2.49 which is a penny less expensive than one month ago and 31 cents less than one year ago.
“The last few weeks we’ve seen a cycle of our state gas price average rising one week and declining the next. Thankfully these shifts have been more marginal,” said Megan Cooper, spokeswoman for AAA – The Auto Club Group. “Even with fluctuating prices, drivers are still seeing pump prices over 30 cents cheaper than this time last year.”
National Gas Prices
The national average for a gallon of regular gas went up a few cents since last week to $2.82. Drivers are still paying less than they were last year when the national average was $3.12. Pump prices are typically low in January thanks to a dip in gas demand and cheaper winter blend gasoline. Crude oil prices remain low as markets keep an eye on tensions in Iran, which is a member of OPEC and one of the world’s top oil producers. Any disruption to Iran’s oil infrastructure could have a ripple effect on gas prices here at home.
According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gasoline demand increased last week from 8.17 million b/d to 8.30 million. Total domestic gasoline supply increased from 242 million barrels to 251 million. Gasoline production increased last week, averaging 9.0 million barrels per day.
National Oil Market Dynamics
At the close of Wednesday’s formal trading session, WTI rose 87 cents to settle at $62.02 a barrel. The EIA reports crude oil inventories increased by 3.4 million barrels from the previous week. At 422.4 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about 3% below the five-year average for this time of year.
Tennessee Regional Prices
* Most expensive metro markets – Nashville ($2.59), Cleveland ($2.54),
Jackson ($2.54)
* Least expensive metro markets – Kingsport ($2.42), Morristown
($2.42), Knoxville ($2.43)
