NEO gas prices increase more than 3 cents

The average price for a gallon of self-serve, regular unleaded gasoline in Northeast Ohio rose 3.4 cents this week. The current price at the pump is $2.734 a gallon.

According to AAA’s Fuel Gauge, oil prices opened at $78.98 a barrel and managed to rise as high as $79.35 on the NYMEX, before closing at $78.90 Monday.

Several factors influenced the upward pricing trend during this past week. The dollar suffered a substantial hit last Thursday declining by about one percent, a number that is considered a large move in the equity markets. This prompted increased crude buying as did the emergence of Tropical Storm Bonnie, the second named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season.

As Bonnie moved toward the Gulf, some traders were anticipating the possibility of a disruption in refining operations and decided to do some “just-in-case” buying in the event of a subsequent increase in oil prices. Ultimately, Bonnie fizzled on Saturday without any serious impact on Gulf operations.