COLUMBUS – Gas prices have jumped in central Ohio this week, reflecting unusually low prices a week earlier.
The average retail price for a gallon of regular gasoline in Columbus Monday morning was $2.21, 16 cents higher than on Dec. 3, according to a daily survey from the auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and WEX, Inc.
Prices last week dropped below $2 a gallon, their lowest levels in a year, thanks to a supply glut caused by the United States’ record-breaking production levels. Wholesalers dropped their prices to rid themselves of their oversupply and raised them again Monday morning to a level more in line with the statewide average of $2.19 but still more than 20 cents lower than the national average.
Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey said Sunday that falling crude oil costs are the main reason for the decrease at the pump. The average gas price has dropped 40 cents in the past three months, according to her survey.
Oil futures settled after the OPEC cartel and other major oil producers agreed to reduce production by 1.2 million barrels a day starting from January. The cuts will last for six months.
U.S. benchmark crude oil fell to $52.50 a barrel Friday.