COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – As gas prices continue to fall nationally, Columbus motorists and those in Ohio, aren’t reaping the benefits, at least not this week.
According to GasBuddy’s survey of 500 stations in the Columbus area, the average gas price rose for the second consecutive week, this time by 5.8 cents per gallon to $3.63. That current price is 7.8 cents per gallon lower than one month ago but stands 7.2 cents per gallon higher than this time one year ago.
In Ohio, the average price of gas also increased by 10.4 cents per gallon, from $3.50 per gallon to $3.61 per gallon.
The cheapest gas station in the Columbus area was priced at $3.06 a gallon, while the most expensive was $3.79, a difference of 73 cents per gallon. Nationally, gas prices fell slightly once again by 3.5 cents to $3.55 per gallon.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, once again expressed confidence that more relief at the pump is on the way, despite the rise in Ohio.
"The news continues to be good for motorists ahead of Memorial Day, with gasoline prices again falling, making it four straight weeks of declines for the national average," said De Haan. "The good news doesn't necessarily end there, either. GasBuddy's Summer Travel Forecast (predicts) that gas prices over the next few months will stay far under record levels and should continue trending lower as we get closer to July 4.”
As to why prices in Columbus are on the rise, bucking the national trend, De Haan said it is cyclical.
“Much of the Great Lakes sees prices cycle every one-to-two weeks,” he said. “They jump all in one day, but then fall over the course of the next week or so to a point where stations are selling below cost, which triggers them to raise prices again back to a profitable level.”
