COLUMBUS, Ohio – A tightening of the supply of gasoline sent retail prices up sharply in central Ohio late this week, though they remain below what motorists were paying a year ago.
According to the daily survey by the AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and WEX, Inc., the average price for regular gasoline in Columbus jumped 10 cents overnight to $3.41 a gallon Friday morning.
Columbus area motorists had seen prices close to $3 a gallon – and below in the case of one neighborhood which was the scene of an old-fashioned gas price war – but those prices were well below the average for the rest of the nation and the recent increase brought them back in line with the nationwide average price of $3.44.
Gasoline futures and spot market prices rose Thursday yesterday because of refinery issues on the East Coast, AAA Ohio spokeswoman Kimberly Schwind said.
She says refineries also began drawing down supplies of summer-blend gasoline prior to the shift to winter-blend fuel on Sept. 15. The notoriously volatile Midwest market reflected the changes with rapid price changes.
Heading into the busy Labor Day weekend, most consumers are paying the lowest prices at the pump for August since 2010, says Heather Hunter, spokeswoman for the national AAA.
Prices in Columbus and the rest of Ohio are 3 to 5 cents lower than they were one year ago.