COLUMBUS, Ohio – What comes down must go up.
After 13 straight days of declines, the price of gasoline in Columbus dramatically reversed course Monday, jumping up 17 cents a gallon to $3.69, according to a daily survey from the AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express.
The turnaround erased the comparative price gains motorists had been enjoying since Feb. 27, when the price began retreating from its high for the year: $3.86.
Compared to the rest of the nation, however, Ohioans had been living in a bubble as one of only five states where price declined, according to AAA public relations manager Michael Green.
Ohio and Indiana enjoyed the biggest week-to-week drops in the nation – 15 cents – between March 4 and Monday, Green says, and the average price in central Ohio fell 20 cents during the same period.
Tuesday morning, prices ranged from $3.40 to $3.79, according to ColumbusGasPrices.com.
Refinery shutdowns for scheduled maintenance and an earlier-than-usual switch to more expensive summer-blend fuels cause the price increase at the end of February and Green says, since then, drivers have been reaping the benefits of lower crude oil and wholesale gasoline prices.
The price of oil was up 11 cents Monday at $92.06 per barrel, compared with $101.16 on the same date in 2011 and $106.34 in 2012.
After 12 consecutive days of declines – the longest streak of the year — the nationwide average price of gasoline was 10 cents cheaper than one year ago. Ohio’s average price was 19 cents cheaper and the price in Columbus was 18 cents lower than one year ago.
Green says the AAA predicts the national average price will crest lower and earlier than recent years, but isn’t ready to say that peak has been reached yet.