Gas prices in Highland County and multiple areas in Ohio passed the $3 mark this week. American Automobile Association (AAA) Spokesperson Jeanette McGee said recently that prices were “poised” to fluctuate because of a recent drop in demand.
“We expect this week’s demand number to increase as it will reflect Memorial Day holiday weekend travel, but it’s not likely to lead to an increase in gas prices for the majority of motorists,” McGee said. “However, crude oil is on the rise and could prop up pump prices.”
The automobile association said in the news article that the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that the demand decreased from 9.48 million barrels a day to 9.15 million ending on May 28. The article also said that total gasoline stocks increased to almost 234 million barrels of oil as the U.S. refinery utilization rose to 88.7 percent, which is the highest rate since February of 2020.
The article said that AAA will be tracking two more factors to help track gas price changes later in the summer, and those factors are crude oil prices and global supply. The article said that crude oil prices increased to their highest price in 2.5 years to $69 per barrel. It said that because crude accounts for more than 50 percent of the gas prices, crude oil prices going up causes gas prices to go up.
The article said that when last Friday’s formal trading sessions ended, West Texas Intermediate increased by 81 cents to $69.62 per barrel.
“OPEC’s efforts to hold its production agreement in place bolstered prices last week,” the AAA article said. “The move could help reduce pump prices later this summer, but the amount of the price reduction will depend on how well OPEC and its allies adhere to their agreement and if the additional production is not met with higher demand. OPEC and its allies will meet again on July 1 to review their production agreement.”
Ohio is the 20th ranked state in terms of average gas price with an average price of $3.037 per gallon for regular fuel. AAA said that is an increase from just one week ago, when average prices were $2.942 per gallon. Compared to a month ago, when the average regular fuel price in Ohio was $2.822 per gallon, it is a sizable increase of $0.215, according to AAA.
The lowest gas prices around Highland County, according to GasBuddy on June 10, are:
* Chillicothe — The lowest price was $3.15 at multiple places.
* Greenfield — The lowest price was $3.08 at Clark.
* Hillsboro — The lowest price was $3.10 at Murphy USA.
* Mount Orab — The lowest price was $3.15 at multiple places.
* Wilmington — The lowest price was $3.05 at multiple places.
Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.
