VALDOSTA — Valdosta gasoline prices have skyrocketed to the highest in Georgia since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The average cost of a gallon of regular gasoline in the Azalea City Monday was $4.02 — an increase of a staggering 51 cents in a week, according to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report.

The lowest price reported in Lowndes County was $3.75 per gallon at a store in Lake Park, according to the price tracking website gasbuddy.com.

Valdosta had the highest average gasoline price Monday of all 15 metro markets the auto club monitors in Georgia — outpacing Warner Robins, Savannah, Rome, Macon, Hinesville, Gainesville, Dalton, Columbus, Catoosa, Brunswick, Augusta, Atlanta, Athens and Albany.

Nationally, the average price of gasoline was $4.07 per gallon, up 46 cents in seven days, while the Georgia average of $3.97 per gallon was up 47 cents in the same period, AAA said.

The recent invasion of Ukraine by Russia triggered huge jumps in the prices of oil on the international market. Oil prices that had been running from $60-70 a barrel a couple of months before the invasion were running from $110-$115 a barrel Monday, said Montrae Waiters, a spokeswoman for AAA. “(Sunday night), the price was around $95 per barrel,” she said, indicating a jump of $15-$20 per barrel overnight.

Russia, a large oil producer, has seen several traders and oil companies sever their ties with the country, and the U.S. and its Western European allies are discussing a ban on Russian oil imports.

Cynthia Tori, professor of economics at Valdosta State University, said prices are going to get “much worse.”

“$4.02 per gallon is not going to be our peak,” she said. All the other cities in AAA’s gas survey can expect $4 average prices soon, Tori said.

Waiters said she hadn’t heard of any panic buying in Georgia yet. 

“I’m sure people are going to be concerned,” she said.

A number of factors could be combining to push Valdosta gas prices to such a high level, including local taxes, Waiters said. “Crude oil makes up about half of taxes,” she said.

Other factors driving the price include the international oil price situation caused by the invasion and local demand for fuel, Waiters said.

Also, March is generally when retailers switch from “winter blend” gasoline to more expensive “summer blend,” she said.

“And it’s spring, and — especially after the pandemic — people are getting out more,” she said.

“We can expect the price of gas to continue climbing in the next couple of weeks.”

How long the prices continue to climb depends on what the U.S. does about its energy policy, Tori said. A decision by President Joe Biden to release 30 million barrels of oil from the country’s strategic oil reserves represents only a few days worth of the U.S. needs, she said.

Tori said since she doesn’t expect any major change in U.S. energy policy to encourage more domestic production, she expects prices will hit $4.50 a gallon.

One part of Lowndes County’s economy that could be hit hard is tourism, Tori said. Valdosta, sitting alongside Interstate 75, does a lot of business from tourists heading south to Florida, stopping locally for food, fuel and overnight lodging.

As fuel prices rise and discretionary spending shrinks, people could take fewer vacations, cutting into Valdosta gas, hotel and restaurant businesses, she said.

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.