COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – After gas prices took a tumble below $3 per gallon in the Columbus area, motorists saw the cost jump back over the $3 threshold within the past week. And as with the previous week’s decline, this week’s increase has nothing to do with the upcoming presidential election, but rather a common buck in a trend called ‘price cycling’. According to GasBuddy’s survey of 500 stations in the Columbus area, the average price at the pump jumped by 14.0 cents per gallon last week to reach $3.07. The current price is 5.3 cents per gallon lower than last month and 0.4 cents per gallon lower than this time one year ago. Columbus Gas Prices Tracker The cheapest gas station in the Columbus area was priced at $2.74 a gallon, while the most expensive was $3.53, a difference of 79 cents per gallon. In Ohio, the average price of gas also increased by 18.0 cents from $2.81 per gallon to $2.99 per gallon. Nationally, gas prices continued a downward trend, dropping by 2.2 cents per gallon to reach $3.05, while the price of diesel continues to hit new lows since January 2022, settling at $3.52 per gallon. According to GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis Patrick De Haan, any change in fuel prices is generally due to supply and demand, and has very little, if anything, to do with politics, politicians or elections. The country’s presidential election is one day away but it is merely a coincidence that prices at the pump are falling or rising. “Americans can expect the downward trend (in gas prices) to continue in most states, while other states have seen prices jump temporarily due to a behavior we track called price cycling,” said De Haan. “We should see the number of states with sub-$3-per-gallon prices grow as we get closer to Thanksgiving."