Gas prices in Ohio are a couple of cents higher than a week ago and 15 cents higher than a month ago, although prices in Hillsboro and Greenfield were lower than the state average.
The average price for a gallon of regular gas in Ohio was $2.19 in Monday’s survey from auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and WEX Inc. That’s up from $2.17 a week ago and $2.04 the same time last month. The average price in Ohio a year ago was $2.42.
But in Hillsboro, prices ranged Monday from $2.12 to $2.19 a gallon, according to the survey tool GasBuddy.com. Gas prices at two stations in Greenfield were $2.15 and $216, according to the survey.
The national average price Monday was $2.22, up six cents from a week ago and eight cents the same time last month. The average national price a year ago was $2.49.
Pump prices have been driven by crude oil prices surging more than 20 percent in August and refinery issues impacting production in some regions.
In a press release, AAA said, “After dropping for two months, including a streak of 53 of 54 days, pump prices are again on the rise heading into Labor Day weekend. The national average price for regular unleaded gasoline has increased for 14 consecutive days.”
The club stated, “Today’s (national) average price of $2.22 per gallon marks an increase of six cents per gallon compared to one week ago and eight cents per gallon compared to one month ago. Despite the increase, drivers are paying 27 cents less than they did at this same time last year and are on track to pay the lowest Labor Day gas prices since 2004.”
AAA said that 55 percent of Americans say they are more likely to take a road trip this year due to lower gas prices.
The club said that projections show that “Americans will purchase about 400-million gallons of gasoline each day over Labor Day weekend, at an aggregate cost of about $880-million per day. While the national year-over-year discount remains, it has closed substantially from more than fifty cents just ten days ago.”
The auto club cited a number of factors that have driven prices higher, including higher crude oil prices, refinery issues in the Gulf Coast, and tropical weather threatening the Gulf of Mexico.
“The rising crude oil prices can be attributed, in part, to talks of an agreement to limit production amongst OPEC countries and news from the U.S. Federal Reserve that the U.S. may raise interest rates in the next couple of months,” AAA said.
The auto club added that “the first major tropical depression moved through the Straits of Florida, the area between Cuba and the Florida Keys, Sunday evening. While the storm’s direction and strength are still uncertain, many meteorologists are tracking the storm’s path into the Gulf of Mexico with a northern bend into Florida later in the week. The storm’s projected move away from the concentration of refineries and petroleum infrastructure in the Gulf Coast is easing worries about available supply.”
