MIAMI VALLEY — Within the last 24 hours, gas prices in the Dayton area have spiked 11 cents to an average of $3.59.
News Center 7′s Taylor Robertson spoke with Patrick De Haan with gasbuddy.com, who said the spike in gas prices is due to one of the largest refineries in the United States having to partially shut down after a shortage tank caught fire.
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The fire and partial shutdown of the refinery in Louisiana caused the wholesale price of gas to jump 15 cents per gallon. De Haan said that combined with gas stations that had been lowering prices, suddenly the price jump put them at a point where they were selling at cost, causing prices at the pump to increase.
De Haan told Robertson that the upcoming Labor Day holiday could actually start to lower the prices a couple of cents a day.
“It’s important to understand how Ohio gas prices work. They generally follow something we call ‘price cycling,’ which is basically an up-down cycle,” De Haan explained. “Stations kind of lower their prices to the point where they are selling at a cost. It’s at that moment that prices usually shoot back up again.”
He also told News Center 7 that those looking to get gas should be shopping around and checking apps like Gas Buddy or even just searching online for prices before filing up.
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If you’re racing light to light when driving, De Haan said you’re essentially lowering your miles per gallon and boosting what you pay. He suggested using cruise control, keeping your windows rolled up when your air is on, and removing excess weight from your car if you’re hauling around stuff you do not need.
“A lot of stations have loyalty programs that will offer five, even ten cents off per gallon, so you’ll want to make sure that you have a loyalty program,” he said. “Some credit cards offer rebates, some stations offer different cash discounts as well so there’s a lot of different ways. Shopping around is probably one of the best ways, the easiest ways to save money.”
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