Gas prices are 29% less than a year ago

Even with the weekly increase of 19 cents, Ohio’s metro area gas prices are significantly lower that the record-high prices last year, she said. “We expect to see a lot more fluctuation in gas prices but not at $5 a gallon,” Hitchens said.

“This time last year gas prices were above $5 in many areas, causing motorists to adjust driving and spending habits,” Hitchens said. “Today gas prices are about $1.50 per gallon less than this time last year, fueling the return of the Great American Road Trip and what is likely to be the busiest summer travel season we’ve seen in years. If Memorial Day weekend was any indication, significantly lower gas prices are driving travel plans as the summer travel season kicks into high gear.”

Some of those price fluctuations could come from production levels changing in the Middle East oil producing nations. While this is good news for drivers, Hitchens said there are factors that could push gas prices higher this summer, including a hurricane that shuts down major U.S. refineries and/or an increase in demand for gasoline and other energy sources.

Recession fears due to high inflation, somewhat curbed by 10 straight interest rate hikes, have pushed crude oil prices lower. When the price of crude oil drops, gas prices typically follow, as more than half of a gallon of gasoline is made up of crude oil. Crude oil prices have dropped 40% since last June when the commodity was trading at about $120 per barrel.

In a June 5 report by Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, the nation’s average price of gasoline has fallen 3.9 cents from a week ago to $3.51 per gallon, according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 11 million individual price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country. The national average price of diesel has fallen 3.4 cents in the last week and stands at $3.88 per gallon.

De Haan said, “While the national average drifted lower last week as oil prices cooled off, the drop may be temporary. OPEC+ agreed Sunday to additional production cuts, while Saudi Arabia is going above and beyond and cutting July production. As a result, oil prices are likely to see upward pressure as global supplies, which have remained tight, promise to become even tighter as a result.”

He said the “last time OPEC+ agreed to cut production, it led to a temporary rally in the price of oil, but as global oil demand hasn’t been as strong as expected, the cut failed to hold oil prices up. OPEC+ and Saudi Arabia are likely hoping that the rise in oil prices will stick longer this time, as the Saudi economy relies on oil prices north of $81 per barrel. It’s likely that, as a result of the production cut, oil prices could rally this week, pushing gasoline prices higher as early as mid-week. How long any rise in gas prices lasts is up in the air, but I do not yet believe motorists need to be worried. Any rise in average prices should be fairly small, and we’re still extremely unlikely to make a run at record prices anytime soon.”

Average gas price per gallon change over past year

SOURCE: AAA GAS PRICES