COLUMBUS – A rise in oil prices is behind a jump in the retail price at the gas pump.
The average price of gas jumped 9 cents in Columbus overnight, according to a daily survey by the auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and WEX, Inc. The $2.40 cents per gallon central Ohio motorists are paying is 42 cents higher than they were paying a year ago and may a more costly year ahead.
“Since 2014, gas prices decreased as much as 20 cents in the first three weeks of the year,” said Jeanette Casselano, AAA spokesperson. “This year, gas prices are five cents more than on January 1 of this year, a possible indication that prices in 2018 will likely be more expensive than last year.”
Ohio drivers saw one of the highest year-to year price increases in the nation. The average price in Ohio Wednesday morning was $2.42 a gallon, 33 cents higher than a year ago, though the state was one of the few where prices declined over the week.
Oil industry analyst Trilby Lundberg says the national average has increased because of higher crude oil costs and she predicts more increases could be on the way, due to multiple factors.
“There’s a triad of influences,” she said Sunday. “Supply – down in some countries, but there are difficulties among some oil-producing nations – and demand in some parts of the world is stronger than many had expected, plus the weaker dollar tends to prop up the price.”
The national average price Wednesday morning was $2.55 a gallon, according to the AAA.