Gasoline prices up again in Midwest

Gasoline price information

Average retail gasoline prices in Ohio have risen 13.9 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.83 per gallon on Sunday, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 5,345 gas outlets in Ohio. This compares with the national average that has increased 5.5 cents per gallon in the last week to $2.81 a gallon, according to gasoline price website GasBuddy.com.

Including the change in gas prices in Ohio during the past week, prices yesterday were 103.4 cents per gallon lower than the same day one year ago and are 20.5 cents per gallon higher than a month ago. The national average has increased 11.1 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 85.8 cents per gallon lower than this day one year ago.

“Thanks to a large surprise decline in both crude oil and gasoline inventories last week, gasoline prices unexpectedly regained upward momentum,” said Patrick DeHaan, GasBuddy senior petroleum analyst. “The government’s weekly report on petroleum supplies was a major departure from what we’ve seen this far in 2015: major jumps in crude inventories, so the market reacted significantly to the year’s first big decline in supply.

“Meanwhile, continued and new glitches in the Great Lakes region has led to a big spike in prices throughout Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, West Virginia and Wisconsin,” DeHaan noted. “It’s been a rough week at the pump as unexpected malfunctions and summer maintenance have led to very tight supply in the region.”

The rest of the country saw modest increases in the last week with the primary catalyst being a lousy EIA report.

“Should we see another big surprise this week, I don’t want to see the market’s reaction — I see oil currently overvalued and believe the market will eventually come to its senses,” DeHaan said.