COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Columbus area gas prices vaulted above $3 per gallon with what experts say is an expected surge due to seasonal transitioning into spring and summer prices.
According to GasBuddy’s survey of 500 stations in the Columbus area, the average price at the pump rose by 21.6
cents last week to reach $3.14 per gallon, or 40 cents per gallon higher than two weeks ago. The current price is also 30.6 cents per gallon higher than four weeks ago but still 30.9 cents lower than this time one year ago.
Columbus Gas Prices Tracker
The cheapest gas station in the Columbus area was priced at $2.35 a gallon on Sunday, while the most expensive was $3.24, a difference of 89 cents per gallon. In Ohio, the average price of gas also rose 18.6 cents from $2.89 per gallon to $3.08 per gallon.
Nationally, gas prices also rose, by 6.3 cents per gallon, to reach $3.08. The price of diesel, however, fell by 0.9 cents, settling at $3.55 per gallon.
What is price cycling?
The rise in fuel cost was just the third bump over the last nine weeks, but second in a row, and both significant compared to the previous declines. Head of petroleum analysis with GasBuddy Patrick De Haan said this is par for the course, as seasonal prices often rise this time of year to match the demand of motorists.
"For the first time in over a month, the national average price of gasoline has risen, driven by the final step in the transition to summer gasoline across wide portions of the country," said De Haan. "This increase has nothing to do with politics or tariffs— which remain paused for now— but is instead the result of seasonality and is something that happens almost every year.” ...read more read less
