Gas prices spike after gradual fall

Gasoline prices throughout southwest Ohio shot up 30 cents or more per gallon on Monday in sharp contrast to the gradual drop in prices over the past week.

Prices at many area stations rose to nearly $3.90 a gallon, boosting the average price in the area to $3.67 for a gallon of regular-grade gas, according to DaytonGasPrices.com, a website that uses spotters to monitor nearly 400 service stations throughout this part of the state. The average price Sunday was $3.59 a gallon.

As of 3:30 p.m. Monday, most area stations were charging between $3.35 and $3.89 a gallon, according to the website.

GasBuddy.com, the parent organization of DaytonGasPrices.com, reported Monday morning before the spike that the average price in the area had fallen 8.7 cents per gallon in the past week. This compares with the national average that has fallen 1.9 cents per gallon in the last week to $3.69.

Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.com, said Monday that prices could be volatile “mainly in the Great Lakes states where prices may again be poised to rise in the next couple of days as wholesale prices reverberate as refineries continue their maintenance schedules and the progressive switch over to summer gasoline continues.”

A year ago, prices were about 15 cents per gallon higher here and nationally.

California had the nation’s average gas price on Monday at $4.12. Wyoming had the lowest at $3.31 per gallon, according to AAA.