Gasoline pump prices continued to slide Friday from a week ago, with some locations selling unleaded regular at $3.28 a gallon, but only time will tell if the trend will hold, industry observers say.
Atlantagasprices.com found multiple locations selling regular unleaded around $3.29 a gallon Friday, including at Kroger in Woodstock, QuikTrip in Johns Creek, and Exxon in Chamblee.
Gas was even cheaper at a Sunoco at North Cobb Parkway and Dobbs Drive in Kennesaw and at a RaceTrac at 4255 Jonesboro Road in Union City with both locations selling regular unleaded at $3.28.
According to the American Automobile Association, the average price of regular unleaded was around $3.48 Friday, about 10 cents less than it was a week ago.
The drop in prices can be traced to convenience stores’ cycling out of higher priced “summer gas” and continued economic doldrums, said Jim Tudor, president of the Georgia Association of Convenience Stores.
Tudor said typically around this time of year prices tend to trend downward “unless there is a major natural event or some sort of world conflict” that would interrupt supplies.
Gas stations are finishing off supplies of specially formulated fuel required for summer use to help combat pollution. The fuel costs more to produce than fuels sold during other times of the year. Once their delivery costs drop, stations can pass those savings along to customers.
Prices also are benefiting from a poorly performing economy -- in the U.S. and in Europe -- which can put a damper on demand for energy and have an impact on oil market speculation and prices.
“Bad economic news which signal lower growth often indicates there is going to be an oversupply of petroleum because people aren’t using as much,” Tudor said. “Good economic news is historically bad for gas prices.”
The falling prices, however, may not last. The country is in hurricane season and Tudor said “we’re only one hurricane away from having $4 gas again.”
Gas prices in the Northeast spiked after Hurricane Irene made its way up the Eastern Seaboard. And the industry is seeing supplies squeezed due to Tropical Storm Lee, which made its way up the Gulf of Mexico, where major refineries serving Georgia exist, according to AAA spokeswoman Jessica Brady.
Brady cited reports that stockpiles of crude oil, which is refined into gas for cars, dropped about 6 million barrels after Lee left tankers unloaded, and oil and gas production idled.
While gas prices have been falling, Brady noted oil prices were up this week, partly due to the lower stockpiles.
“We’re kind of seeing a delayed reaction to the storms that went through the Gulf and along the East Coast,” Brady said.
The rising price of crude oil, which climbed near $90 a barrel Thursday, also reflects potentially positive developments in Europe that could help stabilize its fragile economy - and signal more demand for energy.
“Even though gas prices are dropping it could be temporary at least for the short term,” Brady said of local prices at the pump.
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