It's A Gas Gas Gas In Ohio

Gas prices have jumped nationwide, but here in the Midwest they have skyrocketed in the last week.  Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana have seen gas prices jump more than a quarter a gallon in five days.

Ohio gasoline prices have shot up nearly 30 cents in the last week due to a jump in oil prices sparked by the violent power struggle in Libya.


A survey from auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express puts the state's average price for regular-grade gas at about $3.38 a gallon, up from $3.09 last Monday. The year-ago average of $2.62 for regular now seems like a relative bargain.

Gasoline nationwide rose 4% last week to an average $3.29 per gallon. That's the highest level ever for this time of year, when prices are typically low.

Analysts say it's likely pump prices will go even higher as the unrest in the Middle East and North Africa raises questions about the stability of oil supplies.

Which is to say "Libya! Boo!  Scared you!" and jack up gas prices ten percent in a week, even though A) the United States gets precisely zero oil from Libya and B) we were at a 20-year high of gasoline stockpiles in the country last week.  Nope.  "Supply concerns" enough to cause a ten percent spike in gas prices.

ExxonMobil and BP are laughing all the way to the bank, and every driver around here just got $5-10 added to the cost of filling up the tank.