AAA: TN gas prices fall 12 cents to cheapest state average since January

Published 3:45 pm Monday, December 5, 2022

NASHVILLE — The state gas price average in Tennessee fell below $3 per gallon this weekend for the first time since January 4. Since last Monday, gas prices in Tennessee have fallen 12 cents, on average. The Tennessee Gas Price average is now $2.98 which is 30 cents less expensive than one month ago and eight cents less than one year ago.

“We’re now seeing gas prices at 11-month lows in Tennessee thanks to low oil prices and strong gasoline supplies,” said Megan Cooper, spokeswoman, AAA – The Auto Club Group. “We can still expect to see fluctuating gas prices across the state as gas prices begin to normalize after recent drops in crude oil pricing. Barring any big market changes, it’s likely that Tennesseans will continue to see prices trend downward again this week.”

• 66% of Tennessee gas stations have prices below $3.00

• The lowest 10% of pump prices are $2.65 for regular unleaded

• The highest 10% of pump prices are $3.34 for regular unleaded

• Tennessee is the 8th least expensive market in the nation

The recent steep plunge in domestic gas prices may be affected by the results of Sunday’s meeting of OPEC+, a group of 23 oil-producing nations, including Saudi Arabia and Russia. Domestic gasoline prices have dropped 26 cents nationally in the past two weeks. But OPEC+ decided to maintain output cuts of 2 million barrels per day, about 2% of world demand. The purpose of the move is to boost the global price of oil, which has fallen recently on fears of demand weakness, specifically in China. Regardless, the national average pump price for a gallon of gas dropped 14 cents in the past week to $3.40.

According to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand held steady at 3.2 million b/d. Meanwhile, total domestic gasoline stocks rose by nearly 2.8 million bbl to 213.8 million bbl. Increasing supply and steady gasoline demand have contributed to pushing pump prices lower.

On Dec. 5, the national average of $3.40 is 39 cents less than a month ago and 5 cents more than a year ago.

At the close of Friday’s formal trading session, WTI decreased by $1.24 to settle at $79.98. A weaker dollar contributed to decreasing prices. Earlier in the week, crude prices were boosted by the EIA reporting that total domestic commercial crude stocks fell dramatically by 12.6 million bbl. The domestic commercial crude supply is 14 million bbl lower than at the end of November 2021. For this week, crude prices could rise in response to the European Union, Australia, Japan, United States, Canada, and the U.K. beginning to implement a $60 per barrel price cap on Russian seaborne crude oil, which is meant to limit the country’s revenues in response to the Ukrainian invasion. This effort follows Sunday’s virtual meeting for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, also known as OPEC+, where the cartel agreed to keep its production reduction agreement of 2 million b/d unchanged through 2023.

Drivers can find current gas prices along their route using the AAA TripTik Travel planner.

• Most expensive metro markets — Jackson ($3.12), Knoxville ($3.11), Morristown ($3.10)

• Least expensive metro markets — Clarksville ($2.82), Nashville ($2.89), Chattanooga ($2.92)