After dropping by 11 cents last week, gas prices in South Central Ohio are nearly 12 cents less expensive this week at $2.625 per gallon according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.

Seven Great Lakes and Central states land on this week’s top 10 list with the biggest declines for a second week, including Ohio (-12 cents). At $2.57, Ohio has the second cheapest statewide average for gasoline in the country today.

Gasoline inventories dropped by 456,000 barrels on the week, a factor lending to cheaper prices in the region. Despite the decrease, inventories still sit at a 3.3 million barrel year-over-year surplus, according to Energy Information Administration (EIA) data.

This week’s average prices: South Central Ohio Average: $2.625

Average price during the week of October 15, 2018 $2.741

Average price during the week of October 23, 2017 $2.315

The average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:

$2.707 Athens

$2.495 Chillicothe

$2.596 Columbiana

$2.536 East Liverpool

$2.800 Gallipolis

$2.643 Hillsboro

$2.692 Ironton

$2.690 Jackson

$2.475 Logan

$2.743 Marietta

$2.685 Portsmouth

$2.441 Steubenville

$2.602 Washington Court House

$2.642 Waverly

On the National Front

Motorists across the country are seeing gas prices more than a dime cheaper than last week, with 41 states having less expensive state averages on the week. The national gas price average is $2.85, which is six-cents cheaper than this month’s highest price of $2.91 – the most expensive average during the month of October since 2014. As nationwide gasoline inventories remain mostly stable, lower demand has been a contributing factor in recent weeks driving gas prices down.

At the close of Friday’s formal trading session on the NYMEX, West Texas Intermediate increased 47 cents to settle at $69.12. The crude market mostly saw losses last week following EIA’s latest weekly petroleum report, which showed domestic crude inventory grew for the fourth consecutive week to the highest level since late June. The larger-than-expected growth shocked the market, leading crude prices to fall. AAA is monitoring concerns over upcoming U.S.-imposed sanctions on Iran’s crude exports, which could affect the price of oil.

Motorists can find current gas prices nationwide, statewide, and countywide at GasPrices.AAA.com.

AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 80 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.