COLUMBUS – Good news for central Ohio motorists as the holiday season gears up: Gas prices are the lowest since 2009, averaging under the $2 mark.
The average price in Columbus was $1.98 in Monday’s survey from auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and WEX Inc., the lowest average price since the last week of January and 21 cents lower than one week ago. According to gasbuddy.com, the lowest price in central Ohio Monday morning was $1.79
Prices have been driven lower by a drop in oil prices, an ample reserve supply and refinery production that has resumed after several stoppages and slowdowns for scheduled and unscheduled maintenance.
Gasbuddy.com analyst Patrick DeHaan says some stations in the U.S. could drop their prices to $1.49 a gallon by Christmas, with the national average dropping into the $1.80s.
The national average Monday was about $2.16, down 6 cents from a week earlier. At this time last year, it was $2.89.