This photo shows the cost of a gallon of gas Thursday morning at United Dairy Farmers in Hillsboro.
Jacob Clary | The Times-Gazette
Gas prices have fallen a significant amount, according to a news release from the American Automobile Association (AAA).
AAA statistics for national gas prices, updated on Friday, said that the current average gas price was $3.627 countrywide, with that average down from 3.682 last week.
The AAA news release said the reason for the falling prices would be the lowering of oil prices.
“The national average reached $3.68 last week, and that might be the peak price for now,” Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson, said. “As long as the oil cost keeps wobbling around the low to mid $70s per barrel, drivers will benefit when they fuel up.”
The release said new information from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said gas demand fell from 8.52 million barrels per day to 9.51 b/d as the total domestic gasoline stock also went down by 2.4 million bbl barrels (bbl) to 221.1 bbl.
The release also said the higher demand as well as a decline in stock would “typically” bring the prices up, but the “fluctuating oil prices have pushed them down.
At the close of Wednesday’s formal trading session, WTI decreased by $2.77 to settle at $74.30,” the AAA news release said. “Oil prices fell yesterday amid ongoing market concerns that low consumer confidence could contribute to a recession this year. If a recession occurs, oil demand and prices will likely decline. Additionally, the EIA reported that total domestic commercial crude inventories decreased by 5.1 million bbl to 460.9 million bbl last week.
AAA said Ohio had the 24th highest gas price of all of the states in the county plus Washington, D.C. The site said Ohio’s average price per gallon was $3.520 as of Friday. That is a decrease from one week ago when the price per gallon was $3.632, according to AAA. One month ago, the average price was $3.212.
The lowest area gas prices, according to GasBuddy on Friday, were:
*Chillicothe — The lowest price was $3.29 at Murphy USA.
*Greenfield — The lowest price was $3.32 at Shell.
*Hillsboro — The lowest price was $3.25 at Murphy USA.
*Mount Orab — The lowest price was $3.53 at multiple places.
*Wilmington — The lowest price was $3.41 at multiple places.
Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.
