COLUMBUS – The average price of a gallon of gasoline in Columbus dropped for the first time in five weeks, but analysts say prices are likely to increase leading up to the summer driving season as seasonal refinery maintenance gets underway this spring.
The average price in central Ohio Tuesday morning was $2.33, a 12-cent decline from the previous week but 44 cents higher than the price at the beginning of 2016, according to a daily survey from the AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and WEX, Inc.
Ohio was the only state where prices dropped between Dec. 26 and Jan. 1.
The nationwide average price Tuesday morning was $2.35 a gallon, compared with $1.99 when 2016 began.
A deal brokered by OPEC and non-OPEC countries to cut crude oil production at the first of the year has led to the highest pump prices around the nation for Jan. 1 since 2014, according to the auto club’s analysts.
Some of the nation’s highest averages are in the Great Lakes and Midwest, though Ohio’s average price of $2.32 is not as bad as those in Illinois ($2.49), Michigan ($2.42) or Indiana ($2.40).