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Northeast Ohio Drivers Pinched at the Pump as Regional Inventory Drops

Ohio, Gas Prices
Filling up Insight by Celeste Lindell
Photo by Celeste Lindell https://www.flickr.com/photos/averagejane/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Northeast Ohio gas prices are up by almost six cents this week to $2.411 per gallon according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.

Gas prices rose sharply in the Great Lakes and Central region on the week.  The one exception is Ohio, which is the only state in the country where the average dropped (-1 cent). 

For a second week, gasoline inventories dropped.  According to Energy Information Administration (EIA) data, the region took a 1.3 million barrel drop to register at 58.8 million.  Overall, inventory levels stand just below this time last year, but about 3.5 million above the five-year average for this time of year.

This week’s average prices: Northeast Ohio Average:  $2.411
Average price during the week of March 19, 2018: $2.353
Average price during the week of March 27, 2017: $2.139

Average prices of the unleaded self-service gasoline in various areas:

$2.359        Alliance
$2.402        Ashland
$2.351        Ashtabula
$2.424        Aurora
$2.452        Chesterland
$2.427        Cleveland
$2.408        Elyria
$2.388        Independence
$2.412        Lorain
$2.458        Lyndhurst
$2.380        Massillon
$2.407        Mentor
$2.439        New Philadelphia
$2.361        Niles
$2.398        Norwalk
$2.464        Oberlin
$2.385        Parma
$2.336        Ravenna
$2.457        Solon
$2.501        Willard
$2.414        Youngstown

On the National Front
With the arrival of spring, gas prices are more expensive nationwide.  The national gas price average is $2.61, which is a nickel more expensive on the week.  Six states are seeing double-digit increases: Idaho (+16 cents), Utah (+14 cents), Delaware (+13 cents), New Mexico (+12 cents), South Carolina (+10 cents) and Maryland (+10 cents).  As prices soar, the (EIA) reports that demand dropped to 9.3 million b/d as gasoline stocks dipped (1.7 million b/d) on the week.

At the close of Friday’s formal trading session on the NYMEX, West Texas Intermediate increased $1.58 to settle at $65.88.  The futures market for crude oil rallied last week after EIA's report revealed crude inventories fell for the third consecutive week.  Crude oil inventories dropped 2.6 million barrels from the previous week, and storage levels across the country now total 428.3 million barrels.  When compared to last March, current domestic crude inventories are 104.8 million barrels lower.  This year-over-year change could be attributed to higher than usual gasoline demand in the U.S. for this time of the year, which has also coincided with growing crude and gasoline exports from the U.S.

Motorists can find current gas prices nationwide, statewide, and countywide at GasPrices.AAA.com.

AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 80  local offices in Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia serving 2.7 million members.  News releases are available at news.eastcentral.aaa.com.  Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

For More Information, Contact:
Jim Garrity, Public & Community Relations Manager
Desk: 412-365-7274 / Cell: 412-905-9021 / Email: Garrity.James@aaaec.com

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AAA East Central is a member club affiliated with the American Automobile Association (AAA) national federation and serves members in Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.