Gas price free fall continues

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The gas price has once again dropped considerably, going down 14 cents since last week, with the national average now totaling $3.245, according to an American Automobile Association (AAA) news release and the AAA statistics website. AAA said the fall means that about 34 states have average gas prices lower than last year.

“The seasonal pattern of less driving due to shorter days and crummy weather, combined with a lower oil cost, is driving gas prices lower,” Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson, said. “If this trend continues, many states could see their average prices fall below $3 a gallon by early next year.”

The release said new information from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said gas demand was at 8.36 million barrels per day while the total domestic gasoline stock rose by 5.3 million barrels (bbl) to 219.1 million bbl.

It also said that the continued increase in supply as well as a lower demand “will push pump prices lower.”

“At the close of Friday’s formal trading session, WTI decreased by 44 cents to settle at $71.02,” the AAA news release said. “Crude prices softened last week due to a stronger dollar. Additionally, crude prices were pushed down after the EIA reported that total domestic commercial crude stocks fell by 5.2 million bbl, a lower amount than the market expected. The domestic commercial crude supply is 19 million bbl lower than the beginning of December 2021. For this week, crude prices could slide if the market continues to worry that global oil demand will stagnate or decline into 2023, especially in China, due to rising coronavirus infection rates.”

AAA said Ohio had the 34th highest gas price of all states in the country plus Washington, D.C. The site said Ohio’s average price per gallon was $3.055 as of Tuesday. That is a decrease from one week ago when the price per gallon was $3.232, according to AAA. One month ago, the average price was $3.755.

The lowest area gas prices, according to GasBuddy on Tuesday, were:

* Chillicothe — The lowest price was $2.88 at Murphy USA.

* Greenfield — The lowest price was $2.99 at Marathon.

* Hillsboro — The lowest price was $2.99 at multiple places.

* Mount Orab — The lowest price was $3.29 at multiple places.

* Wilmington — The lowest price was $2.91 at Shop & Go.

Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.

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