Falling gas prices
Prices at the pump for regular unleaded in metro Atlanta continue to be lower than the national average:
Atlanta USA
Friday $2.255 $2.431
Thursday $2.262 $2.431
One Week Ago $2.300 $2.444
One Month Ago $2.261 $2.277
One Year Ago $3.385 $3.532
Source: GasBuddy
If you’re driving this weekend near a Shell or QuickTrip in the 4200 or 4300 block of Bells Ferry Road in Kennesaw or a RaceTrac in the same vicinity, you might want to pull in and filler ‘er up.
Those stations were selling regular unleaded at $1.93 Friday, the lowest prices in the metro area on the first day of spring.
Despite the switch to summer gas blends, which normally drives prices higher, the cost at the pump has fallen in recent days in metro Atlanta and elsewhere, according to GasBuddy and AAA.
The average price for regular unleaded in metro Atlanta Friday was $2.25 a gallon, $2.23 for the state and $2.43 for the nation, according to GasBuddy. The metro average fell 5 cents from a week ago, although the price was where it was a month ago.
Kevin Butt, owner of KB Cleaning Services in Powder Springs, travels around 120 miles a day to clean carpets. He said he has to fill up three to four times a week.
“It’s helped me a lot,” Butt said of the drop in gas prices. “I would say I’ve saved at least a hundred dollars a week.”
Butt, who shops at Kroger, where he said he can get at least 10 cents off a gallon of gas through the grocery chain’s fuel incentive program, said the price cut has allowed him put longer-lasting, higher-octane fuel in his tank.
The price drop is being helped a glut of crude oil in the U.S., which has pushed crude oil prices down about 15 percent from this year’s peak, according to a Bloomberg report. Crude oil prices are near a six-year low, and prices for gas from refineries reflect the decline.
While the drop in prices cuts into the profits of big oil companies, it’s a windfall for consumers, and businesses that rely heavily on delivering products and services on wheels.
Butt said he spent nearly $5,000 on gas last year, but expects to spend just more than half that amount if the current price trends continue this year. “It’s giving me a lot of savings so far,” Butt said.
In addition to the lowest metro prices at those stations in Kennesaw, regular unleaded could be found Friday for $1.99 at a QuickTrip on Richard D. Sailors Parkway in Powder Springs, a Kroger on Brownsville Road in Powder Springs, a Shell station on Marietta Street at New Mackland Road in Powder Springs and an Exxon station on Panola Road in Ellenwood.
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