Ohio & Mahoning Valley - Gas prices in the Mahoning Valley didn't change too much this week as AAA East Central is only reporting a two-cent decrease in pump prices.

This week's local average is $3.502 per gallon compared to last week's $3.521 and last year's $4.433 per gallon.

This slight decrease comes despite the seasonal surge in demand for gasoline during Memorial Day weekend causing a slight increase in the national average by three cents this week.

The price increases are tempered due to the lower cost of oil, which is currently in the low $70s per barrel range.

According to the latest Energy Information Administration (EIA) data, gas demand decreased from 8.91 to 9.43 million barrels per day last week. Meanwhile, total domestic gasoline stock has decreased by 2 million barrels to 216.3 million barrels.

Oil prices rose to $74.34 per barrel amid growing market optimism that energy demand was rebounding. However, prices were capped due to the market expecting another interest rate increase from the U.S. Federal Reserve, which could result in a recession.

Additionally, the EIA reports total domestic commercial crude inventories decreased significantly by 12.4 million barrels to 455.2 million barrels last week.