COLUMBUS – Central Ohio drivers are seeing slightly higher prices at the pump as 2015 comes to an end.
The average price for a gallon of regular fuel in Columbus and across Ohio was about $1.89 in Monday’s survey from auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and WEX Inc. That’s up 12 cents from a week ago in central Ohio but down 16 cents compared with the statewide this time last year.
Ohio’s prices have been running below the national average for regular gas, which was $2.00 to start this week. A year ago, it was about $2.30.
On Dec. 21, the nationwide average price dipped below the $2-a-gallon mark for the first time since March 25, 2009, according to the auto club, and prices are expected to remain low during 2016.
The relatively low gas prices in recent weeks have been attributed decreases in crude oil prices and a more than adequate supply oil and gasoline around the world.
Domestic crude oil supplies are about 29 percent higher than a year ago, according to the Energy Information Administration, while oil prices are about $70 per barrel cheaper than in the summer of 2014.
Gas prices generally fall through early winter because people drive less and AAA analysts expect prices to continue to decline in the coming weeks.
Based on normal seasonal trends, gas prices will likely rise in late winter and early spring as refineries conduct maintenance in advance of the busy summer driving season.
Despite this, the auto club’s experts expect gas prices to remain relatively low during 2016 due to abundant supplies.