The gas price average has continued its slow decline, dropping 4 more cents compared to the week before to a national average of $3.67, according to an American Automobile Association (AAA) news release on Monday.
The news release said this is the smallest weekly decline “in months,” which AAA speculated could signal that the streak of continual average gas price drops, which is nearing 100 days, could be almost over.
“All streaks have to end at some point, and the national average for a gallon of gas has fallen $1.34 since its peak in mid-June,” Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson, said. “But there are big factors tugging on global oil prices — war, COVID, economic recession, and hurricane season. All this uncertainty could push oil prices higher, likely resulting in slightly higher pump prices.”
The release said new information from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said gas demand fell from 8.73 million barrels per day (b/d) to 8.49 b/d while the total domestic gasoline stock fell by 1.8 million barrels (bbl) to 213 million bbl. It said even though gasoline demand has decreased, the fluctuating oil prices have led to smaller pump price decreases.
“At the close of Friday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) increased by a penny to settle at $85.11,” the AAA news release said. “While a strengthening dollar helped to cap crude price increases at the end of last week, prices decreased earlier in the week after the Consumer Price Index showed that inflation remains stronger than expected. As a result, the market is concerned that the Federal Reserve could take more drastic measures that could lead to a recession, which would likely lead to a drop in crude demand and prices. For this week, persistent demand concerns could put downward pressure on prices. EIA’s latest weekly report also showed that total commercial crude inventories increased by 2.4 million bbl to 429.6 million bbl.”
AAA said Ohio had the 34th highest gas price of all of the states in the county plus Washington, D.C. It said Ohio’s average price per gallon was $3.446 as of Tuesday. That is a decrease from one week ago when the price per gallon was $3.510, according to AAA. One month ago, the average price was $3.670.
The lowest area gas prices, according to GasBuddy on Tuesday, were:
* Chillicothe — The lowest price was $3.43 at BP.
* Greenfield — The lowest price was $3.42 at multiple places.
* Hillsboro — The lowest price was $3.33 at Murphy USA.
* Mount Orab — The lowest price was $3.69 at Sunoco.
* Wilmington — The lowest price was $3.45 at Shop & Go.
Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.
