(The Center Square) – Gas prices approached the $5 mark in some Ohio locations this week, threatening to raise the cost of consumer goods across the board.
Spikes catalyzed by the ongoing war in Iran have placed Ohio’s average gas price at $4.83 per gallon according to AAA, nearly 50 cents above the national average.
The price comes in almost 40 cents more than the average just last week. The prices are sitting at about $1.60 more than the average a year ago.
The highest recorded average in Ohio history was $5.06 on June 9, 2022.
“There is still a big question about whether gas prices will stay elevated or if they will come down,” Rob Moore of Scioto Analysis told The Center Square. “If this is a short-term spike, it will end up hitting households, especially those with long commutes and low-income, car-dependent households the hardest.”
The punishing prices have sent many employees who are able to work remotely back to their home offices. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, rising costs paint a familiar scene. Workers whose jobs cannot be completed at home absorb the brunt of the impact. Many of those jobs also draw lower pay.
“Higher gas prices are essentially a temporary tax increase on households, with the heaviest burden felt by low-income and car-dependent households,” said Moore.
A new report from the Brookings Institution puts that tax at 1% of consumers’ monthly income. For the nation’s lowest earners, that number jumps to 5%. The think tank cited predictions that crude prices, which are currently sitting between $106 and $108, may rise to $150 if shipping limitations persist.
The Consumer Price Index has predicted a 2.9% increase in overall food prices in 2026. Prepared foods are rising more quickly than at-home grocery items.
“If the blockade drags out for months, we could see this affecting other commodity costs, especially goods with high transportation costs,” said Moore. “Think food and groceries, construction materials, and agricultural inputs.”
Even higher costs are a tough pill to swallow with the U.S. inflation rate hitting 3.3% in March, according to the Consumer Price Index. Inflation in the Midwest comes one tenth of a percent higher than the rest of the country.
