Chattanooga gas prices jump 14 cents a gallon

The average price of regular gas in Chattanooga rose last week for the fifth consecutive week, increasing another 14.4 cents a gallon to $3.27 per gallon, according to Gasbuddy’s survey of 170 stations in Chattanooga.

Gas prices in Chattanooga were still 21 cents a gallon below the U.S. average of $3.49 per gallon, but local gas prices have risen nearly 27% in the past five weeks. Since Christmas Eve when gas sold in Chattanooga for an average price of $2.58 a gallon, fuel prices have increased 69 cents a gallon.

“There appears to be little good news on the gas price front, with prices unlikely to turn around any time soon,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said in a report Monday. “Because of the surge in prices last spring, many refineries that had planned maintenance deferred maintenance until 2023. With the can kicked to this year, we may have similar challenges producing enough refined products to meet demand, especially with the European Union cutting off refined products from Russia starting February 5.”