COLUMBUS, Ohio ( WCMH ) – An unexpected surge in oil prices after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a half percent was the cause of an uptick in gasoline prices around the Columbus area, according to GasBuddy.
After prices at the pump plummeted by nearly 60 cents over a five-week period, the average gasoline price in Columbus rose by 14.5 cents, settling in at an average of $3.11 per gallon, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 500 stations in the Columbus area.
The current price is still 20.7 cents lower per gallon than last month and 42.4 cents per gallon lower than this time one year ago. In Ohio, the average price of gas also jumped from $2.90 per gallon to $3.08 per gallon.
The cheapest gas station in the Columbus area was priced at $2.69 a gallon, while the most expensive was $3.39, a difference of 70 cents per gallon.
Nationally, gas prices also experienced a small rise of 1.2 cents per gallon to reach $3.16, while the price of diesel continues to hit new lows since January 2022, settling at $3.55 per gallon.