Terry Richards | The Valdosta Daily Times

VALDOSTA — Gasoline prices in Lowndes County inched upward last week, according to statistics.

The average price of regular gasoline in Valdosta Sunday was $2.32 a gallon, up a penny from $2.31 a gallon the previous Sunday, according to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge report.

The lowest gas price in Lowndes County Sunday was $2.23 a gallon at a pair of retailers, one on Baytree Road and one on U.S. 84, according to the price tracking website gasbuddy.com.

Nationally, the average price of gas Sunday was $2.49 per gallon, unchanged from a week ago, while Georgia’s average of $2.36 per gallon was a penny higher in the same period, according to the auto club.

 Georgia’s gas prices have spiked in recent weeks, but analysts believe they will soon be on the decline.

The Augusta Chronicle reports that average retail gas prices in Georgia are about 8 cents higher than at the start of 2017, and rose nearly 7 cents in the past week.

Jeanette Casselano, a spokeswoman for the American Automobile Association, attributes the price increases late last year to high travel volume during the Christmas holidays.

She said that motorists can now expect gas prices “to trend cheaper this month as we are likely to see a significant drop in gasoline demand.”

In Friday’s market action, benchmark U.S. crude lost 57 cents to $61.44 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, fell 45 cents to $67.62 per barrel in London.

Wholesale gasoline slid 2 cents to $1.79 a gallon. Heating oil declined 2 cents to $2.06 a gallon. Natural gas tumbled 9 cents, or 3 percent, to $2.80 per 1,000 cubic feet.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.