The gas price has fallen by 12 cents since last week with the national average now nearing below $3.50 per gallon, totaling $3.54, according to an American Automobile Association (AAA) news release. This release said it was the “steepest” weekly drop since early August.

“Gas prices are dropping nationwide, with some of the largest decreases happening on the West Coast,” Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson, said. “But the West also has the farthest to fall because its prices are so elevated. For instance, California is still $1.50 higher than the national average.”

The AAA news release said a reason for the continued fall is that the cost of oil “edged lower” due to fears of an economic slowdown in other places across the world.

The release said new information from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said gas demand fell from 8.74 million barrels per day (b/d) to 8.33 b/d while the total domestic gasoline stock rose by over three million barrels (bbl) to 211 million bbl.

It also said the increased supply and fewer drivers on the road pushed the prices down, with the release saying that prices “will likely” keep falling as demand remains low and the stock goes up.

“At the close of Friday’s formal trading session, WTI decreased by $1.66 to settle at $76.28,” the AAA news release said. “Crude prices dropped last week despite the EIA reporting that total domestic commercial crude stocks had declined substantially by 3.7 million bbl. Instead, prices declined because the market is concerned that oil demand could decrease due to growing economic concerns. For this week, persistent concerns that economic growth might stall or reverse course could push prices lower. However, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, including Russia, collectively known as OPEC+, are meeting on Dec. 4. In October, OPEC+ decided to cut its collective crude oil output by 2 million b/d through 2023. If OPEC+ decides to revise its production reduction agreement to more than 2 million b/d, prices could spike.

AAA said Ohio had the 28th 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 $3.413 as of Tuesday. That is a decrease from one week ago when the price per gallon was $3.551, according to AAA. One month ago, the average price was $3.662.

The lowest area gas prices, according to GasBuddy on Tuesday, were:

*Chillicothe — The lowest price was $3.45 at multiple places.

*Greenfield — The lowest price was $3.42 at multiple places.

*Hillsboro — The lowest price was $3.39 at multiple places.

*Mount Orab — The lowest price was $3.74 at multiple places.

*Wilmington — The lowest price was $3.31 at Shop & Go.

Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.