Gas prices across the Cincinnati metro area surged more than 40 cents overnight, pushing the average to $4.39 a gallon and erasing the savings Ohio drivers had been getting from the state's gas tax suspension.

AAA reported the jump on Friday, Oct. 23, according to WLWT. That $4.39 average already reflects the discount from Ohio's suspended gas tax, meaning the price would be even higher without it.

Some Cincinnati stations were charging as much as $4.69 a gallon that morning, according to GasBuddy data reported by Kentucky.com. The Cincinnati average jumped about 42 cents from Thursday, Oct. 22, and sat $1.34 higher than a year ago, when gas averaged about $3.05.

The national average stood at $4.29. Ohio's statewide average was approximately $4.37.

What's driving the spike

The exact cause was not immediately clear, WLWT reported. Experts cited the ongoing war with Iran, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and broader disruptions to oil and gas shipping lines as contributing factors.

A more immediate trigger may have played a role. GasBuddy head of petroleum analysis Patrick De Haan told the Dayton Daily News in an Oct. 20 interview that Ohio gas prices would likely see another jump by Thursday, Oct. 22, after a flaring event at an ExxonMobil refinery in the Chicago area. De Haan said the gas tax suspension is reducing prices in Ohio, but seasonal changes and larger global factors keep pushing them back up.

Hoodline, citing the Daily Caller, reported that industry analyst Tom Kloza attributed regional overnight price increases to problems with a 50,000-barrel-per-day catalytic reformer at ExxonMobil's Joliet, Ill., refinery. Wholesale gasoline prices in the region climbed another 25 cents a gallon on the morning of Oct. 22, according to Kloza.

Tax break absorbed

Gov. Mike DeWine signed the 90-day gas tax suspension, which took effect Oct. 4 and temporarily dropped Ohio's 38-cent-per-gallon gas tax to less than a cent, according to WLWT. The 47-cent diesel tax is also on hold. The suspension runs through Jan. 2 unless state lawmakers extend it, and it is being funded with state reserve money.

When the suspension began, AAA reported the statewide average fell to $3.88. But the savings were always split between drivers and oil companies, WLWT reported, and prices began climbing again almost immediately.

As of Oct. 20, Ohio's statewide gas prices were running 96.5 cents above the state's 2025 average, De Haan told the Dayton Daily News.

Neighbors paying less

Prices also rose in neighboring states, but not as steeply. Indiana's average climbed about 10 cents to $3.98, and Kentucky's rose to $4.04, according to WLWT.

The gas tax suspension remains in effect statewide through Jan. 2.