COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — After steadily dropping over the last few of months in 2023, prices at the pump are trending in the opposite direction a few weeks into 2024.
For the second week in a row, gas prices in Columbus rose significantly, this time by 27.9 cents per gallon, to hit an average of $2.85, according to GasBuddy. Two weeks ago, prices shot up 35 cents per gallon.
The current price is 16.2 cents higher than one month ago, however it remains 37.1 cents lower at this time last year.
The cheapest gas station in the Columbus area was priced at $2.68 a gallon, while the most expensive was $3.25, a difference of 57 cents per gallon. In Ohio, the average price of gas is up 25.7 cents from one week ago, averaging out at $2.83 per gallon, while nationally, gas prices actually dropped by 0.8 cents to $3.03 per gallon.
According to Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, the chance of the national average price dropping below $3 per gallon still remains, but the window is closing.
“While prices jumped in some places, it’s being offset by drops elsewhere, and that has kept alive the possibility of briefly seeing the national average fall to the lowest level since 2021," said De Haan, “(But) if we do see a national average of $2.99 per gallon, it won't last long as we start to turn the corner and get closer to the start of the transition to summer gasoline."
