Metro Atlanta gas prices up but not from oil spill, AAA says

By Kristi E. Swartz

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

If you’re wondering where your extra cash is going, take a look at gasoline prices.

For metro Atlanta, the average price of a regular gallon of gas is up nearly $1 compared to a year ago, according to AAA’s Fuel Gauge Report.

The slow rise in prices has nothing to do with the oil leak in the Gulf and everything to do with the economy.

With 356 million barrels of crude oil in U.S. stock piles, there’s no shortage of gasoline, said Jessica Brady, a spokeswoman for AAA South in Tampa. People are just starting to travel more, and that combined with higher investor confidence, is driving up gas prices, she said.

“This time last year, it was really bad,” Brady said. “Nobody was driving anywhere. Nobody was taking a vacation.”

If you filled up around metro Atlanta today, you paid an average $2.86 for a gallon of regular gas, the fuel report says. A year ago, that gas cost an average $1.96 a gallon.

Gas prices have been creeping up for the past month. A week ago, the average price was $2.71 a gallon. Georgia’s prices are slightly lower than the national average of $2.92 a gallon, the fuel gauge report said.

“It really has nothing to do with the oil spill whatsoever,” Brady said. “Because we’ve seen gas prices go up, a lot of people are thinking it’s the oil spill that’s causing it.”

So, motorists who happen upon those yellow bags covering up pumps at their neighborhood gas station – it’s likely from an electrical issue or workers making repairs, Brady said.

Brady said while demand for gas is on the rise, the oil refineries currently are running at 88 percent.

“If there was a supply issue, and they had to ramp up, there wouldn’t be an (problem),” she said.