Gas Prices Shoot Upward Last Week in Chattanooga

But analysts call it an unforseen blip, not a trend.

GasBuddy.com reports the average price for a gallon of gas jumped 13.6 cents.

Nationally, the price went up 2.7 cents.

But our area was one of the hardest hit by a fluctuation in crude oil prices.

"Motorists were hit with rising gas prices in 33 of the nation’s 50 states, catching up with recent increases in crude oil prices, while the Midwest, stung from increases from the previous week, saw relief," said Patrick DeHaan, GasBuddy senior petroleum analyst.

"While we’ll see lower gasoline prices to return to much of the country in the weeks ahead, these types of isolated blips in gasoline prices do occasionally happen during times when crude oil prices are volatile. With recent Fed comments about raising interest rates propelling markets, don’t be surprised if we see occasional small gas prices increases followed by decreases, leading to a lower gasoline prices in time for the holidays," DeHaan said.

The cheapest gas at the pumps right now in our area are a stark difference from last week.

The best prices now are in the Cleveland area.

The BP (Keith), Speedway (25th), Murphy USA (Paul Huff), and RaceWay (25th) all have posted $1.83 gas.

Last week, our lows were around $1.69