Triple A reports that the national average for a gallon of gasoline wobbled slightly since last Thursday before settling one cent higher at $3.61.

That's a nickel less than a month ago, but seven cents more than last year.

In the Mahoning Valley, regular gas prices average $3.53 per gallon on the Ohio side of the state line. Crossing over into Mercer County will cost substantially more where the average price is $3.85, mostly because the fuel tax in Pennsylvania is nearly 25 cents higher than it is in Ohio.

If your travel plans include Ohio's North Coast, don't wait until you get to Cleveland to fill your tank.  Gasoline is about five cents more per gallon than here in the Valley.


Below is a sampling of some local regular gasoline prices from gasbuddy.com as of Friday morning.

Austintown - $3.57 – Country Fair, N. Canfield Niles Road.
Boardman - $3.59 - Shell, Boardman Canfield Road
Brookfield - $3.45 – Sunoco, Brookfield Rd.
Campbell - $3.39 - Dhiman, 12th St.
Canfield - $3.54- Shell, Route 224
Champion - $3.59 – Champion Convenient Mart, Mahoning Ave. NW
Cortland - $3.59 - Speedway, Mecca St.
East Liverpool - $3.44 – Smith Oil, St. Clair Ave.
Girard - $3.31 - Shell, Petro Place
Greenville - $3.79 - Veado's, Hadley Rd.
Grove City - $3.69 - Jiffy, S Center St.
Hermitage - $3.82 – Circle K, N Buhl Farm Drive
Howland - $3.39 – Sunoco, Niles Cortland Rd.
Hubbard - $3.40 – Shell, W Liberty St.
Kinsman - $3.45 - Gulf, State Route 7
Liberty - $3.62 - Speedway, Belmont Ave.
Lisbon - $3.49 - Smith Oil, E. Lincoln
Mercer - $3.89 - Sheetz, N Erie St.
Newton Falls - $3.39 – Falls Convenience, S Milton Blvd
New Middletown - $3.43 - Sunoco, Main St.
North Lima - $3.33 – Pilot, Market St.
Niles - $3.47 - Red Dragon Convenience, Youngstown Warren Rd.
Salem - $3.45 - Murphy Oil, E. State St.
Sharon – $3.89 – Speedway, E Connelly Blvd.
Struthers - $3.29 - Morgan Oil, Lowellville Rd.
Warren - $3.39 - Pit Stop, Elm Rd.
Youngstown - $3.35 - Shell, Market St.

The lack of pump price movement is typical in the days leading up to Memorial Day, according to AAA. However, with AAA forecasting a record 38.4 million drivers hitting the road for the long weekend, the price needle could point a bit higher, at least temporarily.

“Since the pandemic, the summer driving season has not seen a surge in demand, which can push pump prices higher,” said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson. “So it will be interesting to see if this year bucks that trend. This week’s move by the Biden Administration to sell off the million barrel Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve might help stave off any regional pump price surges, but likely won’t move the national average that much.”

According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand rose unexpectedly from 8.87 million b/d to 9.31 last week. Meanwhile, total domestic gasoline stocks decreased slightly from 227.8 to 226.8 million bbl, while gasoline production increased last week, averaging 10.0 million