Over the past week, Tennesseans have seen a slight dip in prices at the pump after reaching record highs in the state and across the nation.
According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), the average price for a gallon of gas in Tennessee was $4.58 on Tuesday. That’s a one-penny drop from Monday’s average of $4.59.
Over the past week, the price of gas has dropped six cents, down from $4.64 last Tuesday.
A week ago, President Joe Biden’s administration announced that it would release and sell 45 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Still, the slight drop is little consolation for Tennesseans who have been hit hard at the pump.
A month ago, gas prices averaged $4.29 per gallon. One year ago, they averaged $2.85 per gallon.
Nashville and Memphis are averaging the highest gas prices, at $4.61 per gallon as of Tuesday. Prices averaged $4.58 in Knoxville and $4.51 in Chattanooga.
Gas prices have been steadily rising since Biden took office in early 2021, but have spiked since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
The White House has blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for the price hikes at the pump, despite the fact that only three percent of American crude oil was imported from Russia before Biden cut off that supply in protest.
“I understand Americans are anxious, and they’re anxious with good reason. I was raised in a household when the price of gasoline rose precipitously, it was the discussion at the table. It made a difference when food prices went up,” Biden said on June 10. “But we’ve never seen anything like Putin’s tax on both food and gas.”
He did not offer a plan to lower gas prices.
Meanwhile, experts are also unsure when the price of gas will drop to more reasonable levels.
“We cannot predict when we will see a decrease in gas prices,” Montrae Waiters, a spokeswoman for AAA, told The Star News Network earlier this month. “At this point, it’s just a wait-and-see.”
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Gas Prices” by Chadica. CC BY 2.0.
