Gas

VALDOSTA — Valdosta gasoline prices jumped during the past week, in line with state and national prices.

The average cost for a gallon of regular gasoline in the Azalea City earlier this week was $3.38, up nine cents from $3.29 a week earlier, according to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report.

The lowest gas price reported in Valdosta was $3.19 at a pair of stores, both on Baytree Road, according to the price tracking website gasbuddy.com.

Valdosta was in a four-way tie with Macon, Augusta and Atlanta for the spot as the fifth-highest average gas price among the 15 Georgia markets monitored by the auto club: lower than Savannah, Hinesville, Brunswick and Albany but higher than Warner Robins, Rome, Gainesville, Dalton, Columbus, Catoosa and Athens.

Nationally, the average price of gasoline was $3.61 per gallon, up a dime in seven days, while Georgia’s average of $3.38 per gallon was up 13 cents in the same period, AAA said.

“The oil market has had a few days to digest the OPEC news (that it is cutting production by more than a million barrels a day) and speculate about the reason. This has led to the price of oil stabilizing for now,” said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson, “but the cost of oil accounts for more than 50% of what we pay at the pump, so drivers may not catch a break at the pump any time soon.”

In market action earlier this week, U.S. benchmark crude gained 54 cents to $80.28 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It lost 96 cents to $79.40 on Monday.

Brent crude, the international pricing standard, added 39 cents to $84.57 per barrel.