COLUMBUS – Motorists in central Ohio and around the nation were seeing gasoline prices at their highest levels for the beginning of a new year since 2014 when prices were more than $3 a gallon, according to the auto club AAA.
High travel volumes over the holidays drove gas prices up five cents on the week to $2.49 a gallon nationwide, according to a daily survey from the AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and WEX, Inc.
“Although prices at the pump shot up over the holidays, now that the holiday season in the rearview mirror, motorists can expect gas prices to trend cheaper this month as we are likely to see a significant drop in gasoline demand,” said AAA spokesperson Jeanette Casselano.
The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in Columbus Tuesday morning was $2.51, 15 cents higher than on Dec. 26 and 18 cents higher than at the beginning of 2016.
At the start of 2018, Ohio saw one of the nation’s largest prices increases from the week before at 10 cents a gallon. The statewide average price Tuesday morning was the same as the national average: $2.49 a gallon, 16 cents higher than at the beginning of December.