Gas prices in South Central Ohio increased by eight cents over the week to $2.482 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.

Gas prices are as much as 9 cents more expensive on the week in the Great Lakes and Central states (Ohio, +4 cents). The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that the region is sitting on 55 million barrels of gasoline, the highest inventory for the region since early June 2017. On the week, inventories built by 1.8 million barrels.

This week’s average prices: South Central Ohio Average $2.482

Average price during the week of Jan. 22, 2018 $2.399

Average price during the week of Jan. 30, 2017 $2.117

Here is the price per gallon of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:

$2.499 Athens

$2.488 Chillicothe

$2.345 Columbiana

$2.461 East Liverpool

$2.470 Gallipolis

$2.474 Hillsboro

$2.537 Ironton

$2.532 Jackson

$2.476 Logan

$2.546 Marietta

$2.505 Portsmouth

$2.462 Steubenville

$2.451 Washington Court House

$2.508 Waverly

On the National Front

At $2.58, the national gas price is four cents more expensive on the week. Across the country, motorists in 47 states and Washington, D.C. have seen pump prices increase as much as 9 cents with the Great Lakes, Central, South and Southeastern states seeing the largest increases. The EIA reports an increase on the week in gasoline demand and inventories.

Nationally, gas prices are 10 cents more expensive than one month ago and 30 cents more than one year ago. On the month, Iowa (+18 cents) has seen the largest increase. Compared to one year ago, motorists in Indiana (+52 cents) top the list for the largest increase, while New Mexico (+15 cents) has seen the smallest increase in the country.

At the close of Friday’s formal trading session on the NYMEX, West Texas Intermediate increased 63 cents to settle at $66.14. Moving into this week, oil prices are likely to continue trending higher. EIA’s latest weekly report highlights that U.S. crude inventories reached their lowest level in nearly three years at 411.6 million barrels.

Crude production in the U.S. continues to inch closer to a new 10 million barrel-per-day record, which most market analysts expect the U.S. to hit sometime this year. Market observers remain cautiously optimistic about this year due to worries about growing production rates from large producers who are not participating in the OPEC production agreement. These producers, such as the U.S., could thwart OPEC efforts to rebalance supply.

Motorists can find current gas prices at GasPrices.AAA.com.

AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 81 local offices in Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia serving 2.7 million members. News releases are available at news.eastcentral.aaa.com. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.