Georgia gas prices up 71 cents from last year

Georgia drivers are paying $3.62 per gallon for regular gasoline this week, 71 cents more than the same time last year, according to AAA.

What’s happening: The statewide average has barely moved in recent weeks, sitting at $3.61 a gallon for the past month before ticking up one cent. Filling a standard 15-gallon tank now costs about $54.30.

What’s important: Prices in Georgia remain below the national average of $4.09 per gallon, which rose 5 cents this week. AAA spokeswoman Montrae Waiters said global tensions are keeping pressure on fuel costs. “Oil prices are staying high due to global tensions and concerns about supply, which continue to put pressure on fuel costs,” Waiters said. “While prices moved up and down late last week, the overall trend is still upward, which could mean higher prices at the pump for drivers in the days ahead.”

By the numbers: Georgia gas prices compared to recent benchmarks:

• 1 cent higher than last week
• 1 cent higher than last month
• 71 cents higher than this time last year

Global factors: U.S. benchmark crude oil, known as West Texas Intermediate, is trading in the mid-$90s per barrel. A failed ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran has kept oil markets unsettled. Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway in the Middle East through which a large share of the world’s oil passes, remains below normal.

Where prices vary in Georgia: The most expensive markets in the state are Valdosta at $3.69, Atlanta at $3.64, and Gainesville at $3.60. The cheapest are Albany at $3.50, Hinesville-Fort Stewart at $3.48, and Dalton at $3.45.

Electric vehicles: The national average cost to charge an electric vehicle at a public charging station dropped one cent this week to 40 cents per kilowatt hour.

The path forward: Georgia prices have held nearly flat for a month, but crude oil remains elevated and Middle East tensions are unresolved, conditions that have historically pushed pump prices higher in the weeks that follow.