COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A recent increase in local gas prices was short lived as prices at the pump dropped by nearly 15 cents last week to close in on $3 per gallon, while the average price for a gallon of gasoline in Ohio fell below the $3 threshold. According to GasBuddy’s survey of 500 stations in the Columbus area, the average price at the pump fell by 14.6 cents per gallon last week to reach $3.04. The current price is 7.6 cents per gallon lower than last month and 19.3 cents per gallon lower than this time one year ago. The cheapest gas station in the Columbus area was priced at $2.85 a gallon, while the most expensive was $3.53, a difference of 68 cents per gallon. In Ohio, the average price of gas also fell by 18.3 cents from $3.14 per gallon to $2.96 per gallon. Columbus Gas Prices Tracker Nationally, gas prices also experienced a small decline of 3.3 cents per gallon to reach $3.13, while the price of diesel continues to hit new lows since January 2022, settling at $3.56 per gallon. According to GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis Patrick De Haan, the overall outlook remains promising for most states across the country. “I'm hopeful that the downward trend will continue again this week for a majority of Americans as we see the average price of gasoline start to make a targeted effort to fall below the $3/gal mark for the first time since 2021," De Haan said.