Georgia gas prices rise 10 cents in a week; still 63 cents more per gallon vs. a year ago

Media release: Oil prices increased for the second week in a row, keeping a barrel of oil above $80 after the Group-20 (G-20) and European leaders began discussion to draft a plan to resolve the European debt crisis. The new plan's completion date is set for the last week of October, with a review by the G-20 scheduled for the first of November. 

The market reacted to talks of a plan to resolve Europe's debt issues and received additional upward momentum from a Commerce Department report that showed U.S. retail sales increased 1.1 percent last month. Crude oil settled Friday at $86.80 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange—$3.22 more than the week prior. 

"The market has waited more than a month for a piece of positive news to latch onto and drive oil prices higher. Although the data caused investors to get bullish, it will be interesting to see if the increase in oil prices is sustainable," said Jessica Brady, spokesperson, AAA. "Retail gas prices already reacted to the two-week jump in oil prices and reversed the downward momentum reflected in September. We're likely to see gas prices continue to increase this week unless oil prices fall."

The national average price of regular unleaded gasoline is $3.45 per gallon, 6 cents more than last week. Florida's average price of $3.42 increased 7 cents last week, while Georgia's average price of $3.34 jumped 10 cents. Tennessee's average price of $3.27 also increased 7 cents from last week, respectively.

CURRENT AND PAST PRICE AVERAGES

Regular Unleaded Gasoline

                                    Current           Week Ago      Month Ago     Year Ago    

National:                   $3.457         $3.396                 $3.611            $2.834

  Florida:                      $3.425          $3.354                  $3.560             $2.825

  Georgia:                     $3.347          $3.246               $3.485             $2.720

Tennessee:               $3.279          $3.203              $3.412              $2.685

AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report (fuelgaugereport.com) is updated each day and is the most comprehensive; reflecting actual prices from credit card transactions within the past 24 hours at two-thirds (100,000 stations) of the gasoline stations in the U.S. Its accuracy is unparalleled.