Ohio gasoline prices could stabilize a bit

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Average retail gasoline prices in Ohio have risen 5.8 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.37 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 increased 2.1 cents per gallon in the last week to $2.37 per gallon, according to gasoline price website GasBuddy.com.

Including the change in gas prices in Ohio during the past week, prices yesterday were 49.8 cents per gallon higher than the same day one year ago and are 19.6 cents per gallon higher than a month ago. The national average has increased 16.2 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 39.3 cents per gallon higher than this day one year ago.

According to GasBuddy historical data, gasoline prices on January 9 in Ohio have ranged widely over the last five years: $1.87 per gallon in 2016, $2.02 per gallon in 2015, $3.25 per gallon in 2014, $3.15 per gallon in 2013, and $3.39 per gallon in 2012.

“If there’s ever a time one could expect gasoline prices to flatline, this week should be one of them,” said Gregg Laskoski, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy. “Given the Dept. of Energy report last week of a huge build in gasoline inventory followed by the brutal 1-2 punch from Winter Storms Helena and Iras, that brings immediate and downward pressure on fuel prices.

“Between the two storms, they’ve brought nearly a foot of rain, mudslides, and rockslides to California and Nevada; snow, sleet, and freezing rain in the Pacific Northwest; snow and ice storms in the Plains and upper Midwest; and winter advisories in effect from the Deep South all the way to the Northeast, where nearly a foot of snow brought travel to a crawl on the I-95 corridor from North Carolina to Portland, Maine,” Laskoski added.