Gas Prices: Tennessee is now the 8th least expensive market in the nation

Aug 18, 2020 at 07:00 am by WGNS


Tennessee Regional Prices

  • Most expensive metro markets –  Nashville ($1.95), Jackson ($1.95), Memphis ($1.95)
  • Least expensive metro markets – Knoxville ($1.83), Kingsport ($1.85), Clarksville ($1.86)

Tennessee gas prices, on average, increased only slightly over last week, rising nearly a penny. The Tennessee Gas Price average is now $1.90 which is four cents less than one month ago and nearly 44 cents less than one year ago.

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“Gas prices across the state are likely to fluctuate during back to school season, but we expect them to remain low,” said Megan Cooper, spokesperson, AAA - The Auto Club Group. “We've likely seen prices at the pump peak for 2020, barring any major hurricane(s).”

Quick Facts

  • 91% of Tennessee gas stations have prices below $2.00
  • The lowest 10% of pump prices are $1.71 for regular unleaded
  • The highest 10% of pump prices are $2.21 for regular unleaded
  • Tennessee is now the 8th least expensive market in the nation

National Gas Prices

The national gas price average has pushed only as expensive as $2.20 since the beginning of the pandemic, and that happened just one month ago. In the last four weeks, motorists have seen the national average slowly decrease, down to today’s average of $2.17 despite gasoline demand last week reaching the highest measurement (up to 8.88 million b/d) since Mid-March, according to the latest Energy Information Administration (EIA) weekly report.

Across the country, 72% of all stations are selling gas for less than $2.25 and 41% have gas under $2/gallon.  EIA measures gasoline stocks at 247 million bbl – a 12 million year-over-year surplus – for the week ending August 7. This extremely healthy supply amid lower seasonal demand is paving the way for one of the lowest annual gas price averages this decade.

Today’s national average is three cents cheaper than last month and 45 cents less than a year ago.

National Oil Market Dynamics

At the end of Friday’s formal trading session, WTI decreased by 23 cents to settle at $42.01 per barrel. Crude prices ended the week lower after the International Energy Agency reduced its outlook for 2020 global oil demand to 91.9 million b/d from 92.1 million b/d. Reduced demand for gasoline and other transportation fuels, including jet fuel, have pushed global crude demand down. As new coronavirus infections increase worldwide, global demand will likely continue to decline and contribute to further reductions in crude prices this week.

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