COLUMBUS – Gas prices in Columbus are higher again, mirroring a jump in prices at the pump nationwide.
The average price for regular gasoline in central Ohio has risen for eight of the last nine weeks and jumped 19 cents Monday, to $2.51 cents a gallon, according to a daily survey by the auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and WEX, Inc.
The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline shot up 16 cents a gallon over the past two weeks, to $2.66, oil industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey said.
She says the rise comes as supplies tighten while refineries undergo maintenance in advance of increased demand during the summer driving season.
At $2.62, the AAA’s national average continues to trend more expensive since mid-February, increasing eight cents in the last week.
“Thanks to increasing demand and tightening gasoline stocks across the country, March gas prices came in like a lion and will not go out like a lamb,” said Jeanette Casselano, AAA spokesperson.
While today’s national average is nearly a quarter more expensive than last month, it is only two cents more expensive than last year at this time.
Ohio’s statewide average price of $2.49 was 15 cents higher than one month ago but only 7 cents higher than the price in 2018.