Low metro gas prices creeping up again

Atlanta’s gasoline prices appear to have bottomed out after weeks of steady decline, as the average amount for a gallon of regular unleaded leveled off and began inching back up this week.

The average price Thursday of $1.54 a gallon was 3 cents more than a week ago, according to Gasbuddy.com, a Web site that tracks gasoline prices.

The lowest price reported by the Web site early Thursday was $1.41 a gallon at stations in Conyers, Kennesaw and Lilburn, while other stations in Alpharetta, Duluth, Buford and Suwanee were selling gas for between $1.42 and $1.45.

Metro Atlanta’s prices were still well below the national average, pegged early Thursday at $1.67 a gallon.

Gas prices peaked at over $4 a gallon in mid-September. The precipitous drop since then has mirrored a 73 percent decline in crude oil prices since July amid a worldwide economic slump.

On Thursday, the price of crude oil for January delivery slipped as low as $39.19 — a level not seen since at least July 2004 — before rebounding to $40.32.

The 13-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which accounts for about 40 of global oil supply, said Wednesday it planned to reduce its output quotas by 2.2 million barrels a day.

But markets had already expected a vastly reduced flow of oil and traders focused instead on troubling economic data that points to a long and severe global economic slump.

—- The Associated Press contributed to this report