Interest rate cuts to blame for recent gas price hike in Columbus
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.
According to GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis Patrick De Haan, the recent trend remains promising for most states across the country heading into the fall season, despite the interest rate hike and corresponding cost increase in fuel prices.
“With oil prices jumping after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a larger-than-expected half percent, we've seen some states where gas prices have inched back up," said De Haan. "(But) most of these increases should be temporary with declines returning in the days and weeks ahead."