COLUMBUS – After two weeks of double-digit price increases due to a supply crunch, the average price of gas in Columbus dropped this week, though it still remains much higher than at this time last year.
The average retail price of a gallon of regular gasoline was $2.48 Monday morning, 16 cents cheaper than one week ago but 49 cents higher than a year ago when the price was under $2 a gallon, according to a daily survey by the auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and WEX, Inc.
In the face of the highest demand for gasoline during the month of October in 11 years, delayed maintenance, a pipeline leak and the recovery from Hurricane Harvey slowed the supply, driving prices up in the Midwest and Great Lakes faster than any other region of the country, AAA analysts said.
The statewide average price of $2.54 had dropped 10 cents since last Monday, but was 55 cents higher than a year ago, also one of the largest year-to-year increases in the country.
The national average price of $2.56 a gallon was 39 cents higher than last year at this time.