“When close to 40% of U.S. crude production is offline because refineries are closed, there is going to be pain at the pump until operations resume,” said Kara Hitchens, AAA spokesperson. “The good news is the nearly two dozen impacted refiners are expected to restart operations this week, if they haven’t already. That means regular gasoline deliveries will resume and impacted stations will be re-fueled.”
As of Monday, Ohio’s average gas price was $2.64 per gallon, compared to $2.31 last month and $2.43 last year, according to AAA. In Dayton, the average was down a cent from Sunday at $2.60.
The states with the top 10 highest increase in gas prices include the following, according to AAA:
- Ohio: 22 cents
- Arizona: 21 cents
- Iowa: 19 cents
- Minnesota: 18 cents
- Georgia: 18 cents
- Michigan: 17 cents
- Wisconsin: 16 cents
- Nebraska: 16 cents
- Indiana: 16 cents
- Maryland: 15 cents
AAA reported that gas prices will be volatile until crude production is back to normal. While large spikes will likely subside, motorists should expect higher gas prices to stick around.
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