Gas prices up, but still under $2 a gallon

Gasoline price information

Average retail gasoline prices in Ohio have risen 9.5 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $1.90 per gallon on Sunday, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 5,345 gas outlets in Ohio. This compares with the national average, which has not moved in the last week to $2 a gallon, according to gasoline price website GasBuddy.com.

Including the change in gas prices in Ohio during the past week, prices Sunday were 14 cents per gallon lower than the same day one year ago and are 5.6 cents per gallon higher than a month ago. The national average has decreased 4.2 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 28.2 cents per gallon lower than this day one year ago.

As the majority of the United States is still experiencing falling retail gas prices, California and the Great Lakes states are buoying the national average, keeping it from dropping further below $2 per gallon,” said Will Speer, a Houston-based senior petroleum analyst with GasBuddy. “After a healthy 5.9 million barrel draw in domestic crude stocks, crude futures markets responded with gains in the price of West Texas Intermediate crude.”

“Despite this bullish pressure, 38 of the 50 states saw a weekly decline in gas prices; however, this majority of states lowering gas prices wasn’t enough to move the national average significantly, a testament to the severity of California’s gas price hike,” said Speer. “As the refining issues impacting California aren’t expected to be resolved this week, California will continue to inflate the national gas price average into the new year.”

For a complete listing of current averages and other fuel price data, visit http://media.gasbuddy.com. For fuel news and alerts, follow @GasBuddyNews on Twitter.