City experiences slight dip in gas prices

VW independent/submitted information

While local gasoline prices are the lowest they have been in some time, Van Wert did not experience the large decrease in prices seen in other areas of the state. Gasoline price drops in Van Wert were mostly moderate, with just a 2-cents-per-gallon decrease on the low end, versus the state average, which is more than a dime lower than it was last week.

The low price in Van Wert is currently $2.42 cents per gallon at the Murphy USA station in the Towne Center shopping center on the north edge of the city.

Four stations were at $2.44 a gallon, including the Pak-A-Sak Marathon station on South Shannon Street, the Lassus Handy Dandy station in the 800 block of North Washington, the One Stop Shop station in the 200 block of North Washington, and the Shell station on South Washington Street.

At $2.47 is the Brookside Marathon station on West Main Street, while the Pak-A-Sak Marathon station on North Washington was at $2.48 per gallon, and the Short Stop Sunoco station was selling gasoline at $2.49 per gallon.

Meanwhile, gasoline prices in Ohio have fallen 11.7 cents per gallon during the past week, to an average of $2.26 per gallon on Sunday, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 5,345 stations in Ohio. This compares with the national average, which has fallen 7.8 cents per gallon versus last week to $2.53 per gallon, according to GasBuddy.

Including the change locally during the past week, prices Sunday were 14.4 cents per gallon lower than a year ago and are 37.8 cents per gallon lower than a month ago. The national average has dropped 29.4 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 3.4 cents per gallon higher than a year ago.

“The $1.99 club has seen its membership swell in the last week with the number of states with stations priced at that level or lower spiking to 18. Texas, New York, Missouri, Louisiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Michigan, Virginia, Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, New Mexico, Ohio, Tennessee, and Illinois all have at least one station at $1.99 or less, and the good news is it won’t end there,” said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. “Oil prices have seen another weekly rout, with WTI crude oil shedding over $6 per barrel or some 14 percent to close the week at a mere $50 per barrel.

“While many may be a skeptic of the White House taking some credit, the Trump Administration’s reluctance to punish Saudi Arabia for its role in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi is likely leading Saudi Arabia to push against large cuts in crude oil production, fearing potential fallout from Trump,” DeHaan added. “In the week ahead, motorists in most states will likely see further drops, saving the country $125 million a day versus prices in early October.”