COLUMBUS – Gas prices in Columbus have dropped 20 cents in the last week, but the low prices at the pump are the result of the same low oil prices that are dragging down the stock market.
The average price for a gallon on regular gasoline in Columbus Monday morning was $1.63, according to the daily survey from the auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and WEX, Inc. That is 20 cents lower than Jan. 11 and 42 cents cheaper than a month ago.
The statewide average price was $1.69, 15 cents cheaper than a week earlier.
The Columbus price is also about 26 cents lower than the national average.
Oil prices at 12-year lows, coupled with concerns about a slowdown in the Chinese economy, are weighing down the stock market, where the major indices have plummeted to start the New Year.
The Dow Jones industrial average, the Nasdaq composite index and the Standard & Poor’s 500 are all now in what’s known as a correction, a drop of 10 percent or more from their recent peaks.
The Dow is down nearly 400 points during the first two weeks of 2016.