Gas prices have hit their highest level since the start of the Iran war, jumping to over $4 per gallon in Ohio.
The statewide average for gas prices as of April 29 is $4.221, according to AAA, up 13 cents from the previous day and 43 cents from last week. Nationally, the average gas price rose to $4.229 a gallon, according to AAA data, reaching their highest level since the early days of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022.
Gasoline prices were on the mind of 49-year-old Jason Roberts when he stopped at the Sunoco station on Tuscarawas Street W in Canton, just west of Waterworks Park, where the price for regular was $4.299 per gallon.
“They’re not as good as they were when I first started driving, when I was 16, and they were 88 cents,” said the Canton resident. “It’s just a sign of the times. What can you do?”
He said the rising fuel cost coincides with increasing costs of rent, electricity, cable television and internet services.
Canton man: ‘They’re all through the roof’
“They’re all through the roof,” Roberts said. “It’s getting really, really, really hard to survive, though, for people. … Got to work two jobs. … Got to be married … so you can have two incomes coming in. It’s not easy to make it by yourself.”
He’s also seeing the effects in his job as a restaurant manager in the Belden Village area of Jackson Township, where he’s dealing with fuel surcharges from food suppliers due to rising diesel prices.
Roberts is skeptical that the rising price of fuel can be solely blamed on Iran’s tight control of shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
“I’m sure once there is an election coming up or something, it’ll go down for a little bit, and then after the elections, it’ll go back up for a little bit,” he said. “One little canal can’t affect the gas prices this much in the entire world. It just seems hard to believe.”
GasBuddy, a website and app that tracks gas prices, pointed to the war in Iran.
“Oil prices have been climbing again as markets react to renewed geopolitical tensions and the cancellation of talks between the U.S. and Iran,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said April 27 in a prepared statement. “As a result, gasoline prices are set to rise further this week, with diesel expected to follow. Many inland states — including those in the Great Lakes and Plains — could see average gas prices climb to their highest levels since 2022, while price-cycling markets may also experience another round of hikes in the next few days.”
That surge in gas prices has caused more American to work from home, increasing by 12% increase in a new poll in direct response to gas prices, per USA TODAY.
So where is the cheapest gas in Ohio? Here’s what to know.
Where is the cheapest gas in Ohio?
According to the gas prices map from AAA, the cheapest gas can be found in Western and Southern Ohio, where it it still below $4 per gallon in some locations. Average prices were $3.992 in Putnam County and $3.980 in Mercer County.
The more expensive gas is found in Central and Northeast Ohio. The average today in Stark County is $4.257.
GasBuddy listed the cheapest gas in Stark County at $3.81 per gallon at Sam’s Club in North Canton.
The most expensive gas in Ohio is in Huron, Morrow and Noble counties, with an average of $4.299, according to AAA.
The state average for gas in Ohio on April 29 is as follows:
The highest recorded average price for gas in Ohio was $5.065 on June 9, 2022.
Where is gas the most expensive in the U.S.?
Here’s a look at the top 10 most expensive states for gas as of April 29, according to AAA:
Where is gas the least expensive in the U.S.?
Here’s a look at the least expensive states for gas as of April 29, according to AAA:
When will gas prices drop? Maybe not until 2027
So when will prices drop?
When asked on April 19 by CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” if it’s “realistic” for Americans to expect gas prices to drop below $3, Energy Secretary Chris Wright initially replied “I don’t know,” according to USA TODAY.
But then he said it could happen later this year, or maybe not until 2027. “But prices have likely peaked, and they’ll start going down, certainty with a resolution of this conflict.”
Why are gas prices so high? Turmoil in oil markets
The U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes against Iran in February, and in response Iran blocked the Straight of Hormuz, a major oil-trading route, USA TODAY reports. That left hundreds of tankers unable to enter or leave, causing turmoil in the markets.
The strait has become a key sticking point in ongoing negotiations between the United States and Iran.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Say hello to $4.29 a gallon! Where is gas cheapest in Canton region?
Reporting by Chad Murphy and Nancy Molnar, Canton Repository / The Repository
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
