Retail gas prices fell last week despite a slight increase in oil prices. Oil prices inched higher after U.S. inventories of crude oil decreased almost 4 million barrels the first week of September. The decrease was approximately two times more than forecast as output in the Gulf of Mexico was cut in half after Tropical Storm Lee threatened refineries.
The price of crude oil settled Friday at $87.24 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange — 79 cents more than last week.
The national average price of regular unleaded gasoline is $3.65 per gallon, a 1-cent decrease from last week. Florida’s average price of $3.59 and Tennessee’s average price of $3.46 both reflect a 2-cent decrease from last week. While Georgia’s average price of $3.54 decreased 4 cents from last week, respectively. Here in Murfreesboro, discounters on the Old Fort Parkway as well as Memorial are holding steady at $3.35 per gallon for regular gas.