Tampa, FL – The price of oil moved higher last week and pulled gasoline prices up with it. The average price of gasoline rose 4 cents since October 31st. Average prices in the southeastern U.S. also rose 5 cents in Florida, and 8 cents in Georgia and Tennessee.
“This is one of what should be very few speed bumps in the road to lower gas prices as we close out the year,” said Mark Jenkins, spokesman, AAA – The Auto Club Group. “Gas prices are forecast to remain low the rest of the year, but at their current lows, pump prices are vulnerable to modest fluctuations in the price of oil, which influences about two-thirds the price of gasoline.”
Every $1.00 shift in oil prices typically brings a 2.4 cent shift in gasoline. That means the oil price increase could be responsible for an increase of as much as 11 cents at the pump, which may be a worst case scenario.
“The fact that oil prices slipped back below $45.00 a barrel means gas prices should start sliding again,” said Jenkins. “But it could take a few days before the downward shift resumes, as gas prices are not usually as fast to respond to falling oil prices as they are to rising ones.”
The most recent forecast from the U.S. Energy Information Administration has the price of gasoline averaging $2.11 this month and $2.03 in December. Last year, the average prices were $2.89 and $2.51 respectively.
Current and Past Price Averages
Regular Unleaded Gasoline
 |
Sunday | Saturday | Week Ago | Month Ago | Year Ago |
| National | $2.217 | $2.221 | $2.185 | $2.314 | $2.940 |
| Florida | $2.142 | $2.144 | $2.093 | $2.214 | $2.917 |
| Georgia | $2.134 | $2.130 | $2.047 | $2.161 | $2.846 |
| Tennessee | $2.020 | $2.020 | $1.933 | $2.022 | $2.703 |
| Click here to view current gasoline price averages | |||||
AAA updates fuel price averages daily at http://www.fuelgaugereport.aaa.com/. Every day up to 120,000 stations are surveyed based on credit card swipes and direct feeds in cooperation with the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS) and Wright Express for unmatched statistical reliability. All average retail prices in this report are for a gallon of regular, unleaded gasoline.
About The Auto Club Group
The Auto Club Group (ACG) is the second largest AAA club in North America. ACG and its affiliates provide membership, travel, insurance and financial services offerings to over 9 million members across eleven states and two U.S. territories including Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, North Dakota, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands; most of Illinois and Minnesota; and a portion of Indiana.
ACG belongs to the national AAA federation with more than 55 million members in the United States and Canada and whose mission includes protecting and advancing freedom of mobility and improving traffic safety.
