VALDOSTA — The price of gasoline jumped in Lowndes County last week, according to reports.

The average price of gasoline in Valdosta Sunday was $2.44, six cents higher than the average of $2.38 seven days earlier, according to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report.

The lowest price reported in the city Sunday was $2.29 at a North St. Augustine retailer, according to the price tracking website gasbuddy.com.

Nationally, Sunday’s average price for gasoline as $2.54, up a penny over a week earlier, while Georgia’s average of $2.73 was up from $2.71 in the same period, the auto club said.

In Friday market action, oil futures closed lower after the International Energy Agency said U.S. oil production would rise sharply this year. Benchmark U.S. crude lost 58 cents, or 0.9 percent, to settle at $63.37 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oils, fell 70 cents, or 1 percent, to close at $68.61 a barrel.

 

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.