Northeast Ohiio - Folks in Northeast Ohio are experiencing a little less pain at the pump this week as gas prices in the area are beginning to decline.

This week, the average price for a gallon of gas in Northeast Ohio is $4.729 per gallon. That's 14 cents lower than last week's average of $4.860. Last year's average this week was $2.995.

AAA East Central cites lower demand at the pump for the price decreases stating that fewer people fueled up over the past few weeks with the exception of Fourth of July weekend.

About 80% of stations are now selling gas at prices below $5 a gallon, but seeing as July is typically the heaviest month for demand as Americans travel, the pain at the pump could increase once again in the coming weeks.

According to the latest Energy Information Administration (EIA) data, gas demand currently sits at 8.93 million barrels per day. That's lower than last year's rate of 9.11 barrels per day at the end of June.

However, total domestic gasoline stocks increased by 2.6 million barrels to 221.6 million barrels. These supply and demand dynamics along with decreasing oil prices have in turn pushed pump prices lower.

At the close of Friday's formal trading session West Texas Intermediate increased by $2.67 to settle at $108.43. The price of crude oil increased at the end of last week due to market optimism that demand will increase throughout summer.

However, crude prices faced strong resistance amid broad market concern about the potential economic growth to slow or stall due to rising interest rates and inflation which could send prices lower this week if market concerns persist.

EIA also reported that total domestic crude stocks decreased by 2.7 million barrels to 415.6 million barrels last week. That's nearly 37 million barrels lower than the end of June of 2021.