Gas prices drop this week in Georgia, South Carolina

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Georgia and South Carolina gas prices have continued to drop, shown in AAA’s Monday update.

Georgia’s AAA gas price average is down to $3.15, dropping by 2 cents per gallon for regular unleaded fuel since Friday.

According to AAA, Georgia’s gas price dropped 5 cents in the past week.

Augusta saw a 3-cent decrease from last week’s price, with our current price of $3.08 still beating the rest of the Peach State.

South Carolina’s price decreased by 2 cents since Friday, and decreased by 4 cents in the past week, with a current average at $3.27 per gallon, according to AAA.

In Aiken and Edgefield counties, the price is currently $3.30, which has decreased 2 cents since last week’s average.

According to AAA, the national average gas price per gallon has stayed the same since Friday, averaging at $3.76 per gallon.

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Patrick De Haan with GasBuddy said with oil prices “struggling a bit” after reaching $93 after the OPEC+ decision to cut production, many regions could see falling gas prices again this week as demand continues to decline seasonally, “especially if more data points to a significant economic slowdown.”

Even with the election looming, “Motorists are reminded that the decline in gasoline prices is seasonal and should continue into the fall, and is unrelated to the coming election,” De Haan said. “Seasonality is king in driving prices, not the desires or hopes of politicians.”

Department of Energy Secretary, Jennifer Granholm, says " We should see some relief at the pumps soon. Georgia is really benefiting from this because the president is really focused on making sure we manufacture those vehicles, those batteries in the United States, and Georgia has become a really robust part of the battery belt.”

Lots of companies say they’re moving to Georgia to build the batteries for the electric vehicle. And if you drive an electric car, you’re saving a boatload on fuel for sure, because you’re not paying those prices at the gas station,” Granholm says.