COLUMBUS – Higher oil prices are driving gas prices in central Ohio upward as the work week begins.
The average price for a gallon of regular gas in Columbus was around $2.19 in Monday’s survey from auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and WEX Inc. That’s up 20 cents from a week ago, when gas prices dipped below $2 a gallon, and 16 cents above the average a month ago.
Pump prices are likely to remain comparatively cheap through the rest of the summer, with gasoline supplies high and oil prices still relatively low, but recent increases in the price of crude oil will mean higher pump prices in the short-term, according to industry analyst Trilby Lundberg.
“Crude oil prices are up the equivalent of about 16 cents per gallon and they have not yet hit the streets,” she said.
The average price in Ohio is $2.17, 8 cents higher than a week ago but considerably less expensive than the $2.72 drivers were paying this time last year was $2.72.
The national average price on Monday was $2.16, up four cents from a week ago, but down two cents from the same time last month. The average price across the nation this time last year was $2.62.