COLUMBUS, Ohio – Central Ohio motorists were smacked by a big increase in gas prices over the weekend and the long-term outlook suggests that, if prices at the pump decline, they won’t stay down for long.
According to Monday’s survey from auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and WEX Inc., the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in central Ohio was $3.43, a 20-cent jump over Saturday’s price. That was the highest average price in Ohio.
Winter weather, weak demand and sufficient supplies have kept gas prices relatively low but the national average is expected to move higher in the coming weeks because of increased demand, scheduled refinery maintenance and the mandated switchover to summer-blend gasoline before the May 1 deadline, auto club president and CEO Bob Darbelnet said.
The good news? Prices will head higher this summer, but the Darbelnet predicts the national average price will fall far short of the $4-a-gallon mark, probably reaching $3.55 to $3.75 a gallon.
“There is a good chance that average gasoline prices this year will cost less than in 2013, but it is not going to be cheap,” Darbelnet said.
A gallon of regular gas was averaging $3.40 statewide, nine cents higher than last Monday and up 14 cents from the price two weeks ago. The average price in the U.S. was falling two cents a gallon during that same period, industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said Sunday.
Lundberg says the price has dropped more than a nickel per gallon in the past month, but it’s unlikely to fall further unless crude oil prices plunge.