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VALDOSTA — Gasoline prices on local, state and national levels stagnated last week.

The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in Valdosta early this week was $2.71, unchanged from a week earlier, according to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report.

The lowest gasoline price reported in Lowndes County was $2.49 per gallon at a Lake Park store, according to the price tracking website gasbuddy.com.

Valdosta prices were tied with Atlanta for the fifth-most expensive fuel prices among the 15 Georgia markets surveyed by the auto club.

Nationally, the average fuel price of $2.87 per gallon was only a penny higher than a week earlier, while Georgia’s average of $2.71 per gallon was unchanged in the same period, AAA said.

“Refinery utilization is nearly back to pre-pandemic levels, and with gasoline stocks seeing builds in the last month amid lower crude oil prices, motorists have benefited from mostly flat gas prices,” said Jeanette McGee, AAA spokesperson. “However, crude started to see some upward movement this week, which could translate to small increases at the pump by the end of April.”

In market action, benchmark U.S. crude fell 7 cents to $63.12 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It lost 32 cents to $63.19 per barrel Friday. Brent crude, the international standard, was unchanged at $66.77 a barrel.

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.