Gas prices dropped today at a Middle Valley gas station to only $1.86 a gallon for regular fuel - the lowest price in the Southeast as gas prices in Chattanooga continued to decline.
The Citgo station at Middle Valley and Gann roads lowered its price for regular gas to $1.86, while two nearby stations on Middle Valley Road (Exxon and another Citgo) are selling gas at $1.89. According to GasBuddy.com, that is the cheapest fuel price anywhere in the Southeast. Seven Hixson area stations are selling regular gas today at $1.92 or lower as Hixson continue to lead the South for the cheapest gas.
That helped to lower the overall average price of gas in Chattanooga as of Sunday to $2.10 per gallon among the 170 gas outlets in Chattanooga surveyed by the online gasoline price web site, GasBuddy.com. The average price of gas in Chattanooga was 35 cents per gallon below the national average price.
But local gas prices still average 11.7 cents per gallon higher than at the same time a year ago and are 39 cents a gallon higher than two years ago.
"With the exception of some Great Lakes states where prices tend to be volatile, average gas prices moved lower in nearly the entire country in the last week," said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. "Thank a large build in gasoline inventories and gasoline demand numbers that have finally seen a reprieve from levels that were more consistent with summer months than autumn. With OPEC extending its oil production cuts, there is solid evidence that U.S. oil producers will fill in at least some of the void with rig counts remaining strong."
But the recent drop in gas prices may be short lived, DeHaan said.
"As the focus continues to broaden beyond the rest of the year, motorists who found this year's gas prices high may want to begin setting aside some additional funds for next year as all signs continue to point to higher prices than this year," he said.
Oil prices rose today after a North Sea pipeline shut for repairs and investors focused on commodities following an explosion in New York.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures climbed by 51 cents a barrel this morning to $57.87 a barrel.