Metro Atlantans paid a penny more per gallon of gas Monday compared to Sunday, capping a painful week for drivers' wallets. On average, the price of $3.62 for a gallon of regular gas was 11 cents more than a week ago.
However, according to AAA’s Fuel Gauge report, Atlanta's price is just below Georgia’s average of $3.64 a gallon. And it's 15 cents lower than the nationwide average of $3.77 a gallon.
Gas prices continue to creep up toward the $4 range as the summer months get closer. Prices will continue to stay high because of a weak U.S. dollar and the continued problems in the Middle East.
“The weak U.S. dollar coupled with the continued turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa will likely sustain the already high oil and gas prices as we head into the summer months,” said Jessica Brady, spokeswoman for AAA Auto Club South.
"If they (Libya and the African Union) come to some agreement, we could see prices start to back off," she said, adding that it's unclear if or when that could happen.
The U.S. dollar dropped to its lowest level in more than a year Friday, driving up the price of crude oil.
The continuing possibility that Libya’s oil production and exports may be delayed also is keeping crude prices higher.
Metro Atlanta’s gas prices are an average 30 percent higher than they were a year ago, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge report.
Brady encouraged motorists to drive "sensibly" -- not speeding or coming to sudden stops as well as doing basic car care maintenance, such as making sure the oil is changed regularly and the tires properly inflated -- as ways to conserve gasoline.
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