Gas prices dropping, not climbing as summer progresses

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – The summer of cheap gas prices continues to roll along here in the Tennessee Valley.

Last week, prices fell another 2.8 cents a gallon in Chattanooga, according to the GasBuddy.com survey.

The average is now $1.96 a gallon.

That’s almost 20 cents cheaper than this time last summer.

Chattanooga remains the only neighboring city with an average under $2.00 (Knoxville, Huntsville, Nashville & Atlanta).

“While the national average fell 5 cents per gallon in the last week, the bigger story is that 47 states saw average gas prices move lower in the last week, so this isn’t just a here and there trend, it’s almost everywhere,” said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.

“Oil prices remain near 6-month lows as fundamentals remain weak- supply remains high even in light of production cuts from OPEC while demand has been mild, not remarkable. Today’s national average price for gasoline is the lowest for mid-June since 2005- not an easy record to attain.”

“By all measures, gasoline prices this year have been exactly what most motorists seem to love- stable and cheap, two words that rarely have been synonymous with gas prices over the last decade.”

“While many motorists are lured in to that false sense of security, smart motorists continue to shop around and find the best deal as the gas price spread between stations hits record levels, providing enough savings to pay for a snack or food item inside the station,” DeHaan said.

The cheapest gas in our area today is in Soddy Daisy.

The Kangaroo on Sequoyah Road has $1.77, with the BP and Murphy USA on Dayton Pike at $1.79.

In town, several Lookout Valley stations have $1.86 gas.