AAA: Gas prices climb in Ohio

The average price of gasoline across South Central Ohio is 14 cents higher this week at $3.509 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.

The average price during the week of July 15 was $3.361 and the average price during the week of July 24, 2023 $3.287.

This week’s average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline across South Central Ohio is $3.509. Pike County comes in just under the region’s average cost at $3.507 per gallon.

Pike County’s price is almost three cents more than the state average and just more than one gallon cent more than the national average.

The average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:

$3.580 Athens$3.556 Chillicothe$3.445 Columbiana$3.541 East Liverpool$3.457 Gallipolis$3.456 Hillsboro$3.583 Ironton$3.485 Jackson$3.514 Logan$3.597 Marietta$3.340 Portsmouth$3.525 Steubenville$3.504 Washington Court House$3.538 Waverly

Trend Analysis:

The national average for a gallon of gas fell two cents to $3.50 since last week. Lower oil costs and lower demand are helping to decrease gas prices. Today’s national average is still five cents more than a month ago but nine cents lower than a year ago.

According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand plummeted from 9.39 million barrels per day to 8.78 last week. Meanwhile, total domestic gasoline stocks fell from 231.7 to 229.7 million barrels. Gasoline production took a slight hit, likely from Hurricane Beryl, dropping from an average of 10.3 million barrels daily to 9.5.

At the close of Wednesday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate rose $2.09 to settle at $82.85 a barrel. The EIA reports that crude oil inventories decreased by 4.9 million barrels from the previous week. At 440.2 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about 5% below the five-year average for this time of year.

Motorists can find current gas prices nationwide, statewide, and countywide at gasprices.aaa.com.

AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 70 local offices in Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia serving 2.7 million members. News releases are available at news.eastcentral.aaa.com. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.