By Lorrie Ross
Staff Writer
With springtime vacations almost here, drivers may be worried car travel may cost a little more than their travel budget allows. Those are valid concerns since prices at the gas pumps have increased nationwide about 19 cents per gallon compared to last week.
After reaching the lowest prices since 2021 in January, national gasoline prices began to climb over the last few weeks. According to AAA, the nation’s average gasoline price has jumped almost $1 per gallon over the past month and is considered one of the fastest increases in many years.
Whether it is the conflict in the Middle East, or the explosion at a Texas oil refinery, prices are rising around the country. Clay County’s five gas stations have seen their posted prices go up several times lately. The three stations near town: BP, Hot Spot and Ingles, all seem to keep their prices the same, changing them within a day of each other most of the time. On Tuesday, regular unleaded was running at $3.55 per gallon locally. Shooting Creek Market and Hill’s Store generally run slightly higher, but their locations are more convenient for many local residents.
Meanwhile, drivers traveling to Georgia may be doing a double-take at gas prices there. On Monday, posted prices at some Blairsville stations were $3.29 for a gallon of regular unleaded. That is thanks to a temporary suspension of Georgia’s state gas tax for 60 days. The gasoline tax in Georgia typically adds about 33 cents per gallon to regular fuel and 37 cents to diesel. According to gaspriceslive.com, a daily United States fuel dashboard, the national average price for a gallon of gasoline in the United States was $3.977 on Tuesday, March 23. While prices look different around the country, that average comes from a low of $3.263 per gallon in Oklahoma, to the high of $5.822 per gallon in California.
A March 20 article written by Forbes Magazine online Senior Contributor Robert Rapier, says almost as soon as the conflict with Iran started, gasoline prices increased as much as 50 cents per gallon in some places. Rapier, who is a chemical engineer, explained the United States is the world’s largest oil producer and is energy independent. He said “corporate greed” does not completely explain the problem. “What’s happening is a function of global markets, supply chain realities, and predictable patterns in consumer behavior,” Rapier wrote. “In fact, much of what we’re seeing is exactly how the system is designed to work.”
Of course, that does not bring comfort to those wishing to make that beach trip, venture to Disney World or even Dollywood. More expensive gas may lessen some of the fun stuff like eating out or playing mini-golf.
To find gas prices for your potential destination, search by state at: gaspriceslive.com, then sort by current price or change. This site and others allow one to compare today's average regular gasoline price against yesterday, last year, last week or even last month.