COLUMBUS – A drop in gas prices can be expected to continue unabated, or even accelerate, with the end of the summer driving season.
Before the Labor Day holiday weekend, the auto club AAA reported that more than five percent of all U.S. stations were selling gas for less than $2 per gallon and prices generally drop after Labor Day, which is considered the end of the summer driving season.
Refinery maintenance this autumn could slow, but not stop a decline in gas prices, said AAA spokesman Avery Ash, who predicted the nationwide average price would be below $2 a gallon by Christmas.
“There is good reason to believe that cheaper oil costs, a seasonal decline in driving and the switchover to less costly winter-blend gasoline will continue to push down prices through the end of the year,” he said.
According to the daily survey of prices from the AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and WEX, Inc., the average, the average retail price of regular gasoline in central Ohio Tuesday morning was $2.10 a gallon, 12 cents cheaper than when the Labor Day holiday weekend began and 36 cents less expensive than one month before.
Ohio’s statewide average price of $2.17 was 15 cents cheaper than the price a week earlier and significantly less expensive than the national average price of $2.39 a gallon.
Due to lower crude oil costs and abundant petroleum supplies, gas prices nationwide have dropped about 37 cents per gallon since hitting a 2015 peak price of $2.80 on June 15, AAA public relations manager Michael Green said.
Gas prices in Ohio and across the Midwest jumped more than 50 cents per gallon in August due to an unexpected refinery shutdown but recovered before the holiday and many stations in Columbus were selling gas for less than $2 a gallon, according to ColumbusGasPrices.com.