COVINGTON, Ga. — Newton’s west side had the cheapest gas Monday, Nov. 29, as the county's average cost of a gallon of regular gas remained unchanged from last week.
GasBuddy.com price reports showed stations along Salem Road had the county’s lowest prices — ranging from $2.96 to $2.99 Sunday.
Prices rose as motorists moved east in the county, with lowest-priced gas found in central and eastern Newton along U.S. Hwy. 278, $3.14, and Alcovy Road, $3.16.
Since Nov. 22, the Metro Atlanta average dropped by 2 cents to $3.24, the statewide average dropped 2 cents to $3.22, and the national average decreased by a penny to $3.39.
The county's average cost was $3.22, which was higher than the average in neighboring counties Rockdale and Walton ($3.20) and Henry ($3.18); the same as Morgan ($3.22); and lower than Butts ($3.23) and Jasper ($3.29), according to AAA-The Auto Club Group.
The Metro Atlanta averages for other grades of fuel Monday were $3.56 for mid-grade, $3.90 for premium, and $3.49 for diesel.
It cost Georgia motorists an average of $48.30 to fill a 15-gallon tank of gasoline; that is $11.40 more than what motorists paid in January 2020 when pump prices hit their peak of $2.46 per gallon, according to Montrae Waiters, AAA-The Auto Club Group spokeswoman.
“Crude oil prices fell slightly, which points to Georgians seeing some relief at the pumps across the state. The price of oil accounts for about 50% to 60% of what consumers pay at the pump, so a lower oil price usually translates into better gasoline prices for drivers,” Waiters said in a news release.
According to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), total domestic gasoline stocks declined slightly by 600,000 barrels to 211.4 million barrels last week. On the other hand, gasoline demand increased from 9.24 million barrels a day to 9.33 million barrels a day, the release stated.
Typically, growing demand and tight supply would support rising pump prices, but recent fluctuations in the price of crude oil have helped to stabilize and put downward pressure on prices. However, as long as the price of oil is near $80 per barrel, drivers should expect pump prices to remain elevated, according to AAA.
President Joe Biden recently announced that the federal government will make available up to 32 million barrels of oil held in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) and accelerate the timeline for a sale of an additional 18 million barrels of SPR oil, as mandated by Congress. However, how much of a price impact and how long the price relief will last depend on the total amount of oil that moves into the market after the coordinated releases around the globe.
As a result, drivers could see some price relief at the pump over the coming weeks, but they should expect prices to remain higher than last year’s holiday season and in 2019, AAA reported.
