Terry Richards | The Valdosta Daily Times

VALDOSTA — Lowndes County gasoline prices soared in the past week, putting Valdosta among the most expensive gasoline markets in Georgia, according to statistics.

The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in Valdosta Sunday was $2.51, up 15 cents from $2.36 seven days earlier, according to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge report.

The lowest price reported in the city Sunday was $2.41 a gallon at a Baytree Road store, up 16 cents from the previous Sunday when the lowest price was $2.25, according to the price tracking website gasbuddy.com.

Of the 15 Georgia gasoline markets tracked by the auto club’s Daily Fuel Gauge, Valdosta came in Sunday as the fourth most expensive market for average prices, trailing only Brunswick, Hinesville and Savannah and tying Atlanta, according to AAA.

Nationally, the average price of gasoline Sunday was $2.61 a gallon, up a penny from a week earlier at $2.60, while Georgia’s average of $2.50 a gallon was unchanged during the same period, according to the auto club.

In Friday market action, the price of oil climbed $1.58, or 2.5 percent, to $65.88 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the international standard for oil prices, added $1.54, or 2.2 percent, to $70.45 a barrel in London.

Wholesale gasoline rose 2 cents to $2.04 a gallon. Heating oil added 3 cents to $2.02 a gallon. Natural gas dipped 3 cents to $2.59 per 1,000 cubic feet.

According to the Energy Information Administration’s latest weekly petroleum status report, crude oil inventories dropped 2.6 million barrels from the previous week. Storage levels across the country now total 428.3 million barrels. When compared to last March at this time, current domestic crude inventories are 104.8 million barrels lower.

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.