The average price of gasoline across South Central Ohio is eight cents lower this week at $2.066 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.

This week’s average prices: South Central Ohio Average: $2.066

Average price during the week of September 7, 2020 $2.140

Average price during the week of September 16, 2019 $2.598

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

$2.273 Athens

$1.905 Chillicothe

$2.019 Columbiana

$2.281 East Liverpool

$2.180 Gallipolis

$1.897 Hillsboro

$2.012 Ironton

$1.950 Jackson

$2.010 Logan

$2.335 Marietta

$2.077 Portsmouth

$1.898 Steubenville

$2.095 Washington Court House

$1.993 Waverly

Trend Analysis:

Today’s national gas price average is $2.19, which is three cents less than last week, two cents more than a month ago, and 37 cents cheaper than mid-September last year. On the week, every state saw gas prices decrease or stabilize. States with the largest declines are paying a nickel to a dime less, but most averages pushed cheaper by a few pennies since last Monday.

The latest Energy Information Administration (EIA) report measures gasoline demand at 8.3 million barrels-per-day, which is the lowest level since mid-June. As demand dropped for a second week, so did gasoline supply levels – down nearly 3 million barrels to 231 million. While lower supply would typically translate into higher prices, continued low levels of demand are pushing the national average to one of the lowest prices all year.

As the Nation moves into Mid-September, seasonal gasoline trends are starting to take hold. This is the time of the year that ushers in cheaper gas prices due to the switchover at gas stations from summer-blend to winter-blend, which is cheaper to produce. Motorists will likely see some cost savings at the pump with the switchover, but the price difference will be less than other years given how cheap prices are.

One outlying factor that could disrupt these typical market dynamics are continued disruptions to production by tropical storms, depressions, and hurricanes. The National Hurricane Center is currently tracking a number of storms, and Tropical Storm Sally is expected to produce a storm surge and hurricane-force winds for the northern Gulf Coast starting later today. Sally has already forced at least one refinery shutdown in Louisiana and could affect others. However, any pump price impacts will likely be contained to the region and not have a national impact.

At the close of Friday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate increased by three cents to settle at $37.33. Although crude prices made a small gain at the end of the week, the price of crude saw a weekly loss of $2.44.

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

AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 76 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.