The average gas price has climbed for the first time in months, as the national average went up to $3.78 by Thursday morning, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).
AAA also posted a news release on Monday that said that “the main reason” for the rising prices was because of refinery issues from planned maintenance due to a fire on the West Coast and in the Midwest. However, the release also said that low domestic demand and lower oil prices have helped to make the price climb not as much.
“Slack demand and lower oil prices should take some pressure off rising gas prices,” Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson, said. “But Hurricane Ian could cause problems, depending on the storm’s track, by disrupting oil production in the Gulf of Mexico and impacting large coastal refineries.”
The release said new information from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said gas demand fell from 8.49 million barrels per day (b/d) to 8.32 b/d while the total domestic gasoline stock climbed by 1.6 million barrels (bbl) to 214.6 million bbl. It said even though gasoline demand has gone down, the supply and fluctuating oil pricing have caused the national average to go up.
“At the close of Friday’s formal trading session, WTI decreased by $4.75 to settle at $78.74,” the AAA news release said. “Crude prices reached a point not seen since early January 2022, as the market continues to worry that efforts by the Federal Reserve to curb inflation could lead to a recession. If a recession occurs, crude demand and prices would likely decline. For this week, crude prices could continue to decrease if recession fears persist. Additionally, EIA’s latest weekly report showed that total commercial crude inventories increased by 1.2 million bbl to 430.8 million bbl.”
AAA said Ohio had the 21st highest average gas price of all of the states in the country plus Washington, D.C. The site said Ohio’s average price per gallon was $3.685 as of Thursday. That is an increase from one week ago when the price per gallon was $3.471, according to AAA. One month ago, the average price was $3.546.
The lowest area gas prices, according to GasBuddy on Thursday, were:
* Chillicothe — The lowest price was $3.69 at multiple places.
* Greenfield — The lowest price was $3.69 at multiple places.
* Hillsboro — The lowest price was $3.65 at Murphy USA.
* Mount Orab — The lowest price was $3.69 at multiple places.
* Wilmington — The lowest price was $3.39 at Shop & Go.
Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.
