Metro Atlanta gas prices up 8 cents in a week
The gas price roller coaster continues its upward climb, jumping 8 cents in the past week in metro Atlanta. And motorists will likely see pump prices rise again this week, experts said.
Georgia’s average price for regular unleaded gas is $3.48. The national average price is $3.61, a 12-cent increase from a week ago today. Florida’s average of $3.53 and Tennessee’s average of $3.39 both increased 11 cents from last week.
“Early last week, it looked as though gas prices would stabilize,” said AAA South spokeswoman Jessica Brady. “Instead, news of more U.S. jobs pushed oil prices to $91 and regional gas prices jumped an average of 10 cents.” The U.S. added 163,000 new jobs in July.
Brady explains: “If you recall, just a few weeks ago, prices began to fall after European stimulus measures weren’t made, Iran’s threats to disrupt supply didn’t occur, and economic news remained lackluster.” Instead oil prices spiked after the Labor Department announced the new jobs and news of Tropical Storm Ernesto generated concern in the Gulf.
Oil prices settled Friday at $91.40 a barrel — $1.27 more than the week prior. Friday was the third consecutive week oil prices settled more than $90 a barrel, Brady noted.
“Last week shows just how volatile the market is and how diverse the factors are that affect oil prices,” said Brady. “The forecasted stability in gas prices as we entered August ended up being another 10-cent increase at the pump.
Check here for some of the best metro Atlanta gas prices. We found $3.29 a gallon at Gulf, 3046 Lawrenceville Hwy., Lawrenceville; $3.29 at Citgo, 8664 Tara Blvd., Jonesboro and $3.31 at QuikTrip, 1565 Pleasant Hill Rd., Duluth.
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43 comments Add your comment
BOB FROM ACCOUNT TEMPS
August 6th, 2012
1:47 pm
went up a dime overnight at the QT on cobb pkwy in kennesaw. still don’t understand how oil in a tanker out in the ocean not yet delivered can raise the cost of gas already paid for in the ground at the retailer?
jhfds
August 6th, 2012
1:49 pm
yes – went by there last night gas cost $3.45gal, this morning, $3.55.
Native Atlantan
August 6th, 2012
1:53 pm
Same thing with the QT on Briarcliff at Clifton….
Tech Man
August 6th, 2012
1:53 pm
Bob you are correct. Let me add if that price for the oil on the tanker drops it takes forever for the retail price to drop.
Unregistered
August 6th, 2012
1:55 pm
I hope it goes up even higher.
Geez!
August 6th, 2012
2:02 pm
Forget the last week! How about that gallon of gas was $2.97 just July 2nd. That’s an increase of $ 0.58 per gallon in roughly thirty days. Good Grief!
David
August 6th, 2012
2:06 pm
The short answer is that the retailer must pay for all the gas he/she buys up-front, and then must compete with the other gas stations near by. If they want to say in buisness they have to make some assumptions including what their next shipment of gas will cost them. If they go up too high their competators take market share and buisness from them. If they go too low they lose money. Keep in mind when you buy the gas, the retailer is making 1 or 2 cents profit per gallon of gas. The producer is making 6 to 8 cents profit per gallon of gas; the Federal Government is making a little more than 18 cents per gallon of gas and the state is making what ever it’s tax rate is. The rest goes in to the cost of getting the oil and the price of oil.
Well QUE the republicans to BLAME Obama
August 6th, 2012
2:13 pm
When it went up the republicans and conservatives were ALL saying it’s Obama’s fault, when it went down, NOT A PEEP OUT OF THEM to say it’s his FAULT for bring it down. Now it’s inching back up, let’s see which one will be the first to SCREAM, IT”S OBAMA”S FAULT LOL.
Jeff
August 6th, 2012
2:16 pm
If you think someone sells gas to only make 1 to 2 cents of profit then I think you aren’t a very smart business man. So you are telling me that exxon and other oil companies have record profits and they only make 6 to 8 cents profit? Exactly what oil company do you work for?
Sara Tonin
August 6th, 2012
2:23 pm
@BLAME,
You obviously are mistaken. Why, everyone knows it’s George Bush’s fault for heavens sake!
Russell Perry
August 6th, 2012
2:30 pm
I guess if the Retailer is only making 1 or 2 cents per gallon then Kroger must be loosing money everytime someone swipes their card. If someone uses a credit card then ther goes another 3%. Come on people the Retailer makes at least 10 to 15 cents per gallon.
@ Well QUE...
August 6th, 2012
2:40 pm
…Wasn’t tht the Dems mantra 4 years ago when all they could say that it was Bush’s fault?
And, Jeff – Don’t be such a dumbmass – the comment made about the 1-2 cent profit per gallon was for the RETAILER, if you know the difference between the retailer and the oil producer –
Oil copmpanies (Exxon, BP, etc) make their profits from selling to the middle manm (refineries), and the middle man by selingl to the retailer –
Oil company profits are a percentage of their actual costs, and their profit margins are not out of line with other kinds of retailers (food, soft good, materials, steel, etc) which are historically 5-10% of their costs – basic economics here – so the oil companies’s “record profits” are strictly driven by the actual demand for their product –
You can thanks the Chinese, Indians (as in India) and other “new” demands for oil for driving up prices – not to mention the blankety blank speculators who drive up prices at the first hint of anything untoward…
higher
August 6th, 2012
2:40 pm
they need to raise gas prices even higher. the gas prices now are way to cheap for everyone to be paying. its almost an insult.
Sorry, Russell...
August 6th, 2012
2:44 pm
…if you would read about gas retailers you would know that they sometimes DO sell gas at a loss just to get customers in the door in order to make 40-50 cents profit per coke they sell, and huge profits on all the other “junk” they sell – in the world of economics the gas is just considered a “loss leader” – kind of like a movie theater would let you see the movie for free if the studio would let them, since they really make their profit on the high price of the snacks they sell at the candy counter…
Lynn at retailer
August 6th, 2012
3:06 pm
Russell Perry – I hate to tell you this but the retailer only makes at most 2 cents per gallon of gasoline. The rest is taken up by taxes. Where the retailer makes their money is inside the store. So, if you smoke or drink – I thank you…….
Better off 4 years ago
August 6th, 2012
3:44 pm
All I know is I was better off 4 years ago and plan to vote for better days in November. I need a change because right all I have is change in my pocket.
Better off 4 years ago
August 6th, 2012
3:45 pm
The gas retailer wants cheap gas so you will spend more in their store. If gas stays high, no one has any $ left to buy smokes, drinks, gum, etc. which is bad for the retailer.
Better off 4 years ago
August 6th, 2012
3:46 pm
What a novel idea it would be to have the same gas standards for all 50 states so the refineries could just refine gas one way one time.
$0.10 overnight, $0.43 in month!
August 6th, 2012
4:01 pm
QT in Roswell jumped 10 cents overnight to $3.55 (the hint it was coming was the BP across the street raised it 13 cents yesterday afternoon). Same station was $3.12 on July 6th. Daughter said it’s still $2.99 in South Carolina – what gives??
Johns creek
August 6th, 2012
4:16 pm
I guess Obama’s plan is working. We need four more years of this.
native atlantan
August 6th, 2012
4:21 pm
South Carolina is always cheaper due to lower gas taxes. Gas (oil) has always been a commodity, but over the last few years, speculators make money going up and down, oil companies make money, and political unrest as well as other factors that use to be off the radar screen are now front and center. I agree, it is pityful that the day or two after you see the futures price of oil jump on CNBC, the gas pumps jump also, but if the price of a bbl of oil has a couple of big down days, the price at the pump trickles down so very slowly. Thats when the retailers are really making more than 1,2 or 3 cents per gallon. It doesnt matter what you drive, the consumers in this country are held hostage by the oil refining countries that hate Americans but love our dollars.
Steve
August 6th, 2012
4:25 pm
There are too many factors that determine gas prices. Most of them we don’t even know about because it’s a secret that big oil keeps between them. You want to know how a company sets record profits? They charge whatever they feel like charging for oil/gas/refining. The retailers aren’t to blame here…..they have to make a living too. I’ve also heard that it’s a supply and demand issue. I’m calling BS when reports on the US supply was up the highest it’s ever been just a few months ago. We’re exporting more oil now than ever before. The refineries have tons more capacity than they’re using.
I’m just going to buy a Volt and be done with it all!!!!
Silver Creek Doug
August 6th, 2012
4:29 pm
I have several family members that work for ExxonMobil.
XOM makes very little of their corporate profits form the sale of gasoline. In fact, my brother’s division (plastics) makes 5 times the amount in profit that the gasoline division does.
And Jeff, do you understand the difference between profit and profit margin? When oil sells for $140+ a barrel, any oil company will make more gross profit dollars than when the barrel price is $90. Their profit margin (the percentage of the selling price that is profit to the oil company) remains the same. That’s the number to look at, not gross profit.
Glen
August 6th, 2012
4:38 pm
Any remember this from the 2008 presidential election??
“…In the remarks, Obama said soaring gas prices were the latest manifestation of a Washington establishment that won’t tackle the problems facing most consumers, and that he would bring needed change.
“In the end, we’ll only ease the burden of gas prices on our families when Hoosiers and people all across America say ‘enough,”‘ Obama said….”
Based on Obama’s own words, it seems that he is now part of the problem, especially since he had a Democrat controlled Congress the first 2 years. The donkeys did what they wanted, so we can assume the higher gas prices were a part of their plan.
glo
August 6th, 2012
5:00 pm
I seem to remember gas hitting the all time high in 2008, I paid $4.99 a gallon! Though I don’t see where Obama has done any thibg to relive the burden of gas prices it sure hasn’t sky rocketed again to the point it did in 2008! The problem I have with it is the fact that when it is dropping by the barrell in most case it goes up at the pump and when the barrell price is headed up, it drops at the pump! Also how it can go up a $1.00 pet a barrell and it jumps .20¢ a gallon at the pump I know there is more than five gallons per a barrell…..
daslicksta
August 6th, 2012
5:04 pm
IT”S OBAMA”S FAULT , like everything else in this screwed up country at the moment. You can’t blame it all on Bush…
Greg
August 6th, 2012
5:25 pm
Can anyone explain the 9+ months which is now 10 months school? It seems the fuel goes up (and up) with no reason. With we have an area where consumption grow plus 10plus and the fuel cost is up 50cents? Until we get from the Saudi and MidEast oil we are totally dependent!
zap
August 6th, 2012
5:28 pm
Quit complaining everyone. Gas is $4.29 per gallon here in Chicago.
madmax
August 6th, 2012
5:29 pm
So 163k “so called” jobs were created so oil prices skyrocket. What happens when the recession really ends and lets say 500k jobs are added each month for a year or so. Real soon gasoline may be $6+ a gallon. Personally I do not believe anything they say, the real facts are someone wants more money!
Rakheem
August 6th, 2012
6:23 pm
One relatively inexpensive thing that can be done right now to save us literally millions in fuel expenditures, not to metion thousands of hours of lost time, is to synchronize the stupid traffic lights!
Everyone knows it needs to be done and we’ve talked about it for years yet here we are in 2012 still doing the same stop ‘n go every quarter mile, even when there’s no cross traffic in sight. I am beginning to think the brain trust @ the DOT doesn’t know how to do it.
Tim Scott
August 6th, 2012
7:33 pm
Our socialist leader wants everyone to pay their share,be it in gas,taxes whatever. In Europe they pay $7.00 to $10.00 per liter be glad we are not in Europe. Obama and the rest of the Dem’s would like to see gas go beyond $5 bucks a gallon this only helps them in their alternative energy solution.
Hopefully come November the SOB will be kicked out along Reid,Pelosi and the rest of these bleeding heart liberals. Drill baby drill.
lol
August 6th, 2012
8:32 pm
89 was 20 cents higher than 87 today. WTF?!!!
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LiasMom
August 7th, 2012
8:09 am
Be happy with $3.55 in Roswell. It jumped to $3.65 on Powers Ferry in Marietta overnight Sunday to Monday.
Also, a reminder to Glo that the reason we paid $4.99 in 2008 was due to a hurricane and a resulting inability to get gas into the Atlanta area in a steady supply — and had nothing to do with politics.
Russell Perry
August 7th, 2012
8:11 am
It is all just B.S.
Marlboro Man
August 7th, 2012
11:58 am
Don’t be foolish, they are making 20-40 cents a gallon where the gas is sold. All day long.
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cash1
August 8th, 2012
8:49 am
the government needs to do something quick to lower gas prices. I’m tired of paying these obscene prices—I have a long commute to work and it costs a lot of money.
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