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Area pump prices on the rise

Gas prices are on the rise across metro Atlanta, and could shoot up even more this week due to the conflict in Syria.

Even though Syria is not an oil-producing country, AAA spokesman Garrett Townsend tells WSB, “Anytime there are issues in that Middle East region you're going to start seeing some type of effect at the pump."

He adds, "Motorists should expect a 15-cent increase at the pump in the short term."

Gas prices in Georgia already average about $2.63 per gallon and $2.67 in metro Atlanta. Townsend says, "That's the highest since July of 2015."

Prices at the pump have increased 6-cents in the past week, and are 35-cents more expensive than last year at this time.

Georgia now has the most expensive gas since last September, when prices were recovering from Hurricane Irma.

The highest prices in the state are in metro Atlanta, Brunswick and Savannah.

The lowest prices are in Augusta and in Walker and Dade County, in northwest Georgia, where prices average $2.54.

The predicted increase this week could be even more depending on how the crude oil market responds to the crisis in Syria. Crude prices jumped more than $5 last week, which was the largest weekly increase in over eight months.

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