Jeff Fuentes Gleghorn
Michigan has the 10th highest gas prices in the country right now with an average gas price of $4.21. This is lower than last month, when it was $4.36 per gallon, but higher than the $3.95 Michiganders paid last week. The national average for gasoline is only $3.80, and people in Georgia are paying only $3.12 per gallon of gas. The recent spike in gas prices is a result of both unexpected refinery issues and planned maintenance.
Patrick De Haan, Head of Petroleum Analysis at GasBuddy, told PBS that refineries typically run planned maintenance during the fall. Summer has some of the highest demand for gasoline, and fall has lower demand. However, this year there were unexpected problems as well. “For the past few weeks, an onslaught of refinery issues both in the west coast and the Great Lakes has pushed gas prices up tremendously,” De Haan said in an interview with PBS.
