Having gas prices below $3 “help tremendously,” said Stan Terrell, of Dayton, who refueled his vehicle at an Edwin C. Moses Boulevard gas station Tuesday afternoon for $2.79 a gallon.
“I’ll have more money for other things,” Terrell said. “I can travel more, things like that. I work two jobs, so I’m at work all the time. This will help me get back and forth a little easier.”
The national average price of gasoline was $3.02 Wednesday, according to GasBuddy, and $3.03 according to AAA. Southwest Ohio’s average prices are generally lower. The regionwide average is in the $2.90s, with individual stations as low as the $2.60s, or well above $3.00
The national average, which has declined for seven consecutive weeks, dips every winter, but this week’s price drop surpassed lows of the past two Decembers/winters, which stayed above the $3 mark, according to Patrick De Haan, GasBuddy’s senior petroleum analyst.
The cheapest gas got in 2022 was on Dec. 25 when national average prices dropped to $3.05, according to GasBuddy data. For 2023, the least expensive day at the pump nationally didn’t arrive until Dec. 31, when it fell to $3.07.
De Haan said he is unsure if Ohio will go much lower. Stations in southwest Ohio dropped as low as $2.72 in late October, and many stations are in the $2.70s this week. Prices are likely to fluctuate over the next month and a half or so, with them “dancing on both sides of $3.”
“You probably will get a couple days that maybe drop into the upper $2.60s, on average, but those are going to be the days where price cycles basically happen imminently,” De Haan said.
Gas stations engage in price-cycling by steadily lowering prices to undercut competitors, overlooking small market changes daily until their profit margins run thin, De Haan has said. When that is no longer profitable, they raise prices by 25 to 40 cents per gallon to maintain profit margins of 15 to 20 cents per gallon, he said.
By mid-February, gas prices should start their annual climb toward spring/summer peaks, De Haan said.
Elections themselves rarely affect gas prices, but De Haan said the impact of tariffs that have been suggested are something to keep an eye on. They won’t have any effect until late January, if they are implemented at all, he said. This week, all attention will be focused on the OPEC+ meeting that was previously postponed to Thursday, De Haan said.
Oil prices as of Wednesday morning hovered around $70 a barrel. If OPEC begins to restore oil production, oil prices could soften to the mid-$60s, DeHaan said.
The national average gas price is down seven cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 21 cents per gallon lower than a year ago, according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 11 million weekly price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country.
The cheapest stations in Montgomery and Clark counties Wednesday were selling gas for about $2.63, while Butler County saw gas being sold for as low as $2.57 a gallon.
Americans last experienced significantly lower gasoline prices in May 2021, a period marked by reduced gasoline demand due to COVID-19-related shutdowns nationwide and worldwide, resulting in diminished demand and decreased oil prices, De Haan said.
In 2022, the scenario shifted dramatically as faster economic expansion and significantly increased gasoline demand, worsened by Russia’s conflict with Ukraine, caused oil prices to soar, he said.
“Limited U.S. refining capacity was also a prime cause for a lack of below $3 per gallon gasoline, as refining capacity was decreased both in the United States and abroad due to the pandemic,” De Haan said. “With the Federal Reserve now attacking inflation by raising interest rates, growth has cooled, allowing gasoline prices to return to a level not witnessed in years.”
Staff photographer Jim Noelker contributed to this report.
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