Hurricane blows in higher fuel prices

Local gasoline costs increase 39 cents a gallon in past week

Hurricane Harvey may no longer be raining down on the Gulf Coast, but the aftermath of last week’s storm continues to drive up gas prices as some refineries struggle to restore operations.

Hurricane Harvey and its aftermath of idled gas refineries pushed gas prices up in Chattanooga to the highest level in more than two years on Tuesday, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 170 gas outlets in Chattanooga.

The average retail gasoline prices in Chattanooga rose 39.2 cents per gallon in the past week, jumping to an average of $2.52 per gallon, or 52.2 cents per gallon above the price of a year ago.

The weekly jump was the biggest since 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast refineries.

Chattanooga gas prices edged closer to the U.S. average, but remained 12 cents per gallon below the U.S. average of $2.64 per gallon, GasBuddy.com said.

The cheapest gas in Chattanooga remained in Lookout Valley, where Mapco was selling regular gas Tuesday at $2.29 per gallon. But that was still 38 cents above the $1.91 average price at the start of last week before Harvey hit the Gulf coast.

“Until Texas can recover from Harvey, gasoline prices will likely continue to remain elevated,” said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy. “The situation is beginning to look up, with many refineries either back online or in the process, and gasoline production is ramping back up.”

But DeHaan said the potential problems in the next week from Hurricane Irma, which could strike Florida, may again worsen the gas shortages and problems.

“With the Colonial Pipeline having shut down last week due to a lack of products, Florida and the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic may be a touch-and-go area for gasoline,” DeHaan said.

A Hurricane Watch was in effect Tuesday for the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. According to the National Hurricane Center, there is an increasing chance that the Florida Peninsula and the

Florida Keys may see some impact this coming weekend from Hurricane Irma.

“Consumers will continue to feel pain at the pump stemming from Harvey with gas prices potentially increasing an additional five to 10 cents in the week ahead,” said Jeanette Casselano, AAA spokesperson. “States in the south, southeast and mid-Atlantic are most likely to see the biggest surges as these states receive the bulk of their supplies from the Gulf Coast. They could even see an additional surge if Hurricane Irma hits Florida this weekend. The good news is, consumers will see relief from the gas price spike toward the end of this month.”

At its peak, Harvey shuttered 27 percent of U.S. processing capacity. No refineries have returned to normal rates, but at least four were operating at reduced rates on Tuesday.

Crude oil prices rose and gasoline fell by about 3 percent on Tuesday as the gradual restart of refineries in the U.S. Gulf that were shut by Hurricane Harvey raised demand for crude and eased fears of a fuel supply crunch.

Although some gas stations ran out of fuel, most have had enough gas, albeit at higher prices.

“I think the concerns over the hurricane, higher prices and possible shortages kept more people at home over the Labor Day weekend,” said Steve Ray, owner of a Midnight Oil station in Ooltewah.

Ray said he was able to get gas, “but finding it at a price that was affordable was difficult.” On Tuesday, he was selling gas at 15 cents a gallon below what his last delivery charged “and that really stinks.”

Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 423-7576340.