Gas prices in South Central Ohio dropped by 10 cents over the week to $2.712 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.
Motorists are seeing cheaper gas prices this week for the bulk of the Great Lakes and Central states. Statewide, Ohio (-10 cents) tops the chart for the biggest weekly change in gas price averages in the country. Inventory levels bumped up slightly by 300,000 barrels on the week, sitting at the 52.5 million mark according to Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Today’s average prices: South Central Ohio Average: $2.712
Average price during the week of June 11, 2018: $2.816
Average price during the week of June 19, 2017: $2.171
Here is the price per gallon of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:
$2.738 Athens
$2.637 Chillicothe
$2.628 Columbiana
$2.796 East Liverpool
$2.785 Gallipolis
$2.780 Hillsboro
$2.735 Ironton
$2.750 Jackson
$2.616 Logan
$2.772 Marietta
$2.684 Portsmouth
$2.642 Steubenville
$2.709 Washington Court House
$2.701 Waverly
On the National Front
On the week, the national gas price average is two cents cheaper at $2.90. Today’s national average is only one cent more expensive than a month ago, but 60 cents more expensive than a year ago.
Nationwide, 44 states have less expensive or steady gas price averages compared to last Monday. However, the cheaper trend may be reversing. Gasoline demand spiked in the latest EIA report, in fact setting a new record at 9.88 million b/d for the week ending June 8. As demand skyrockets, U.S. gasoline inventories plummeted 2.27 million barrels to land at 237 million, which is 5.7 million below stocks last year at this time. If demand continues to strengthen and inventories decrease in the weeks ahead, motorists may see gas prices do a reversal and start to increase again.
Moving into this week, another factor that will influence gas prices in the near and long-term will be outcomes from the June 22 OPEC meeting in Vienna, Austria. The cartel, along with other major producers including Russia, will discuss increasing oil production ahead of the year-end scheduled dissolution of its production reduction agreement. Some reports indicate that OPEC could be looking at an increase of 300,000 to 600,000 b/d to help ease global crude price gains. An increase in production would likely decrease crude oil prices and encourage cheaper gas prices.
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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