Terry Richards | The Valdosta Daily TimesFuel prices below $2 a gallon could be found along West Hill Avenue near I-75 Sunday.

VALDOSTA, Ga. — Gasoline prices continued to drop in Valdosta during the past week, following state and national trends.

The average price for a gallon of regular gas in the city Sunday was $2.12, down five cents from the week before, according to AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report.

The lowest price reported in Valdosta Sunday was $1.94 at a retailer on West Hill Avenue near Interstate 75, according to the price tracking website gasbuddy.com. The highest price in Valdosta listed on gasbuddy Sunday was $2.79 at a North Patterson Street location.

In Valdosta, 24 stores were shown on gasbuddy as carrying fuel for less than $2 a gallon, up dramatically from only three retailers a week earlier and zero for several previous months.

Nationally, the average price of gasoline Sunday was $2.26 a gallon, down from $2.30 seven days earlier, while Georgia’s average of $2.12 was down four cents during the same period, the auto club said.

In Friday market action, benchmark U.S. crude added 27 cents to settle at $43.01 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 32 cents to $45.54 and natural gas rose 4 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $2.93 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Terry Richards is senior reportr at The Valdosta Daily Times.