VW gas prices see little change in week

VW independent/submitted information

Most, but not all, of Van Wert gasoline prices are below the statewide average, according to the GasBuddy.com gas price website.

The low city gasoline price as of today is $2.56 per gallon at the Murphy USA service station in the Towne Center shopping center. That price is down a penny from last Sunday.

Both Pak-A-Sak Marathon stations and the Lassus Handy Dandy station on North Washington Street are at $2.57 per gallon, while the One Stop Shop in the 200 block of North Washington is selling gasoline at $2.63 per gallon.

The Brookside Marathon station and Short Stop Sunoco station have gasoline for sale at $2.65 per gallon, while the Shell station on South Washington Street has the highest price at $2.75 per gallon 3 cents higher than the statewide average.

Gasoline prices in Ohio have risen 4.1 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.72 per gallon on Sunday, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 5,345 stations in Ohio. This compares with the national average, which is unchanged versus last week to $2.84 per gallon, according to GasBuddy.
Including the change locally during the past week, prices Sunday were 63 cents per gallon higher than a year ago and are 4.8 cents per gallon lower than a month ago. The national average has dropped 10.7 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 62.5 cents per gallon higher than a year ago.

“Going into the July 4 holiday, I can’t remember the last time oil markets were so active,” said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. “Oil has surged over 10 percent just in time for summer’s busiest travel holiday, costing motorists over $1 billion more than last year.

“All the ingredients exist for the national average to inch closer to $3 per gallon, just in time for the second half of the summer,” DeHaan added. “Undoubtedly, the second half of the summer will be pricier than the first, thanks to OPEC’s production increase falling short of expectations, sanctions to be placed back on Iran by November, and falling U.S. oil inventories.

“And to rub some salt in the wound, hurricane season is still upon us, adding more guess work to where gas prices might spend the second half of the summer,” DeHaan noted. “Make no mistake, it won’t be pretty, not nearly as ‘pretty’ as the first half of the summer. Be ready for volatility and likely higher prices at the pump in July and August. “