Gasoline prices fairly steady for week

VW independent/submitted information

Gasoline prices in Van Wert are well below the state average, with the lowest price locally coming in at $2.54 a gallon at Murphy USA in the Towne Center shopping center.

The next lowest price is $2.58 a gallon at Lassus Handy Dandy, while four stations, the two Pak-A-Sak Marathon stations on South Shannon and North Washington streets, the One Stop Shop in the 200 block of North Washington, and the Shell station on South Washington, are at $2.63 a gallon. Rounding out local prices are the Marathon station at the Brookside Convenience Store on West Main Street and the Short Stop Sunoco station, both at $2.69 a gallon.

Gasoline prices in Ohio have risen 7.6 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.76 per gallon on Sunday, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 5,345 stations in Ohio. This compares with the national average, which has increased 1.1 cents per gallon versus last week to $2.84 per gallon, according to GasBuddy.
Including the change locally during the past week, prices Sunday were 45.7 cents per gallon higher than a year ago and are 3.3 cents per gallon higher than a month ago. The national average has dropped a half-cent per gallon during the last month and stands 53.4 cents per gallon higher than a year ago.

“Pushed higher by signs of a lessening in trade tensions between the U.S and the European Union and a drawdown in U.S. oil and fuel inventories following last Wednesday’s Department of Energy’s Weekly Petroleum Status Report, pump prices across the country posted slight gains that could represent a U-turn in falling pump prices at the halfway point of summer,” said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. “Indications of continued strong summertime demand for gasoline, along with robust fuel export numbers, could serve to help sustain moderately higher gas prices, but more geopolitical events such as the closing of oil ports on the Red Sea, affecting Saudi Arabian crude exports, will are sure to provide more upwards momentum for fuel prices in the week ahead.”