COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Experts believe a refinery outage in Illinois is to blame for the recent uptick in gas prices, which includes another jump this past week in Columbus.
According to GasBuddy’s survey of 500 stations in the Columbus area, the average price of gasoline increased by 10.3 cents, nearly matching last week’s jump, to $3.61 per gallon. The current price is 1.2 cents per gallon higher than one month ago and 9.3 cents higher per gallon higher than this time one year ago.
In Ohio, the average price of gas also rose, by 9.2 cents per gallon, from $3.47 per gallon to $3.56 per gallon.
The cheapest gas station in the Columbus area was priced at $3.07 a gallon, while the most expensive was $3.71, a difference of 64 cents per gallon. Nationally, gas prices ticked up slightly by 0.7 cents per gallon to reach $3.47.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said the refinery outage in Joliet, IL continues to plague the Midwest, while other areas in the country are experiencing declining prices at the pump.
“States in the Great Lakes region are still being jolted by the Joliet, IL refinery outage, which has also impacted gas prices in some areas of Canada, while areas like the West Coast continue to see notable declines," said De Haan. "With the summer winding down and GasBuddy data showing disappointing gasoline demand and struggling oil prices, we could eventually see the national average falling a bit more, especially once the refinery in Illinois restarts operations.”
