There are several locations in Hamilton and Fairfeld reporting gas prices at $1.45 a gallon. Those include Thorntons on South Erie Boulevard, Speedway at Creekside Drive and Hamilton Middletown Road, Murphy USA at Ohio 4 and Princeton Road, Speedway at Tylersville Road and Ohio 4 by-pass, Sunoco on Hamilton Cleves Road, all in Hamilton; and Thorntons at Dixie Highway and Ross Road in Fairfield.
This compares with the national average that has fallen 5.2 cents per gallon in the last week to $1.74 per gallon, according to gasoline price website GasBuddy.com.
Including the change in gas prices in Cincinnati during the past week, prices yesterday were 73.2 cents per gallon lower than the same day one year ago and are 38.1 cents per gallon lower than a month ago. The national average has decreased 24.6 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 43.4 cents per gallon lower than this day one year ago.
However, the drop in gas pump prices won’t last forever.
“Gasoline prices continue to plunge coast to coast as refiners continue to churn out winter-spec gasoline that will soon need to be purged,” said Patrick DeHaan, GasBuddy senior petroleum analyst. “While crude oil prices have held above recent lows, gasoline fundamentals continue to be remarkably weak as refiners continue to churn out winter-spec gasoline, incentivized by cheap crude oil. This has put retail gasoline prices under tremendous pressure as gasoline inventories rise to their highest January level since records started in 1990.”
DeHaan said refiners will continue selling any winter spec gasoline at bargain basement prices to rid themselves of it before specifications change heading into summer.
In the days ahead, expect this seasonal “clearance sale” of gasoline to continue, leading to lower prices in most areas. But,” DeHaan said, “Don’t get too relaxed — the shift in specifications will lead to an eventual lift in prices once winter gasoline is gone.”
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