The average price of gasoline across South Central Ohio is three cents lower this week at $3.104 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report. Despite this decline, prices in the region end 2021 nearly a dollar higher than this time last year.

This week’s average prices: South Central Ohio Average: $3.104

Average price during the week of December 20, 2021 $3.136

Average price during the week of December 28, 2020 $2.205

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

$3.326 Athens

$2.912 Chillicothe

$2.918 Columbiana

$3.184 East Liverpool

$3.223 Gallipolis

$2.812 Hillsboro

$3.300 Ironton

$3.186 Jackson

$3.095 Logan

$3.206 Marietta

$3.065 Portsmouth

$3.030 Steubenville

$2.945 Washington Court House

$3.255 Waverly

Trend Analysis:

Gasoline prices fluctuated over the past few days as fears of an omicron-driven economic slowdown were countered by news of a severe fire at a major oil refinery. Last Thursday, a fire erupted at the Exxon Mobil Corp refinery in Baytown, Texas. The plant is one of the largest refining and petrochemical facilities in the United States. If the damage forces the plant offline for long, the disruption could negatively affect gasoline prices. The recent steady decline in pump prices has slowed, with the national average for a gallon of gas falling two cents on the week to $3.28.

According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), total domestic gasoline stocks increased by 5.5 million barrels to 224.1 million barrels last week. On the other hand, gasoline demand decreased from 9.47 million b/d to 8.99 million b/d. Typically, falling demand and increased supply would support larger drops in pump prices, but fluctuations in the price of crude oil have helped to keep pump prices elevated.

At the close of last week’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate increased by $1.03 to settle at $73.79. Despite demand concerns over the omicron variant of COVID-19, crude prices increased after the EIA reported that total domestic crude stocks decreased by 4.7 million barrels last week to 423.6 million barrels. The current stock level is 15.2 percent lower than in December 2020, contributing to pressure on domestic crude prices.

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

AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 72 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.