Gas prices have started to fall after record highs they recently reportedly due to the Russia and Ukraine conflict, according to an American Automobile Association (AAA) news press release. The AAA said this fall was due to President Joe Biden’s order to release one million barrels of oil per day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) which caused the global oil price to fall to around $100 per barrel (bbl).
“The upward push on oil prices caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine is meeting stronger downward pressure from the planned SPR oil release and increased COVID fears in China,” Andrew Gross, a AAA spokesperson, said in the release. “And lower global oil prices are reflected in falling pump prices for consumers in the U.S.”
The release said new information from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said its total domestic gasoline stocks increased by 800,000 bbl to 238.8 million bbl. It also said gasoline demand fell from 8.63 million barrels per day (b/d) to 8.5 million b/d.
The AAA news release said the drop in gas demand, along with growth in total stocks, contributed to the price decrease, adding that if the demand continued to fall as the stock rose, the national average for gas would “likely” continue to fall.
“At the close of Friday’s formal trading session, WTI decreased by $1.01 to settle at $99.27,” the AAA news release said. “Crude prices climbed early last week after EIA’s weekly report revealed that total domestic crude stocks declined by 3.5 million bbl to 409.9 million bbl, approximately 18 percent lower than the level at the end of March 2021. However, crude prices reversed course after the U.S. announced it will release 1 million barrels of oil per day from the SPR for six months. For this week, crude prices will likely remain volatile and could fluctuate if EIA’s next weekly report shows another decrease in total domestic stocks.”
AAA said Ohio had the 33rd highest gas price of all of the states in the country plus Washington, D.C. The site said Ohio’s average price per gallon was $3.960 as of Monday. That is a decrease from one week ago when the price per gallon was $4.042, according to AAA. One month ago, the average price was $3.729.
The lowest area gas prices, according to GasBuddy on April 4, were:
* Chillicothe — The lowest price was $3.89 at Murphy USA.
* Greenfield — The lowest price was $3.69 at Pettit’s.
* Hillsboro — The lowest price was $3.53 at Murphy USA.
* Mount Orab — The lowest price was $4.09 at multiple places.
* Wilmington — The lowest price was $3.78 at Murphy USA.
Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.
