Pump price below $2, first time since August

COLUMBUS – Ohio has some of the lowest gas prices in the country to the start the week, below $2 a gallon for the first time in three months.

The state average price for a gallon of regular gas was about $1.98 in Monday’s survey from auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and WEX Inc. That’s 12 cents cheaper than a week ago and about 8 cents cheaper than at this time last year.

The last time the average price dropped below $2 was on Aug. 15.

Average prices for retail fuel on Monday were lower than Ohio’s number in only a handful of states.

The price in Columbus was $1.97, 16 cents lower than last Monday and 24 cents cheaper than a month ago.

The Ohio number is also notably lower than the national average, which was about $2.17 Monday. That dropped a few cents from last week and is a penny shy of the national average from a year ago.