Metro Atlanta gas prices broke through the $4-a-gallon barrier Monday, pulled along by soaring global energy costs as the Russian war in Ukraine dragged to the end of its second week.
A gallon of regular averaged $4.03 mid-day, up 54 cents in the past week. It’s the sharpest rise since the gas shortages caused by hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, when prices hit an all-time Atlanta high of $4.11 a gallon, according to GasBuddy, which uses information from drivers to track prices around the country.
That record could be in jeopardy, with U.S. oil production still playing post-pandemic catch-up and demand for gasoline climbing as the weather warms.
To help counter the impact of rising oil prices, several dozen countries are releasing about 60 million barrels from their strategic reserves, with about half the release coming from the United States, said Montrae Waiters, spokeswoman for AAA-The Auto Club Group.
But the United States alone uses nearly 20 million barrels a day, so the impact on prices will be limited, she said. At least for the moment, the pace of the increases has slowed, said Patrick De Haan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.
A year ago, metro Atlanta drives were paying an average of $2.57 a gallon.
Mid-day Monday, the national average was $4.10 a gallon, according to GasBuddy. The state with the lowest average price was Arkansas at $3.64 a gallon. At the other end of the spectrum was perennial front-runner California, which averaged $5.32 a gallon.
While refinery production and demand for gas are part of the equation, the biggest factor is the price of oil. Oil production cannot be ramped up quickly, and Russia accounts for 11% of the world’s crude. Fears of a shortage have been pushing prices higher since the crisis began.
After the invasion, the sanctions imposed to punish Russia were crafted to leave its energy sector virtually untouched. But U.S. opinion against the invasion has spurred talk in Washington about extending sanctions to oil.
Cutting off those shipments would hurt Russia badly, but would also mean much higher global prices. The price of crude oil rocketed to a 13-year high between Sunday and Monday.
While prices dropped during Monday trading, they remained well above $100 a barrel.
U.S. oil production peaked in late 2019 at about 13 million barrels a day, about two-thirds of what the nation uses. The largest sources of imported crude are Canada, Mexico and Saudi Arabia. Russian oil represents about 7% of the United States’ imported oil.
Metro Atlanta gas price average, one gallon
Monday: $4.03
Week ago: $3.49
Month ago: $3.26
Year ago: $2.57
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Gasoline and the wallet, one month
Average distance driven by consumers: 1,125 miles
Average vehicle efficiency: 25 miles per gallon
Average gas used: 45 gallons
Average cost at $4 a gallon: $180
Average cost at $3 a gallon: $135
Average cost at $2.57 a gallon: $115.65
Sources: GasBuddy, U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration, Energy Information Administration
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