Michigan residents now paying an average $4.25 a gallon for gas, AAA says
Gas prices have been going up on a daily basis this week in Michigan, even tipping above the national average price for a gallon of unleaded regular fuel.
As of Wednesday morning, Michigan residents are paying an average of $4.25 a gallon for gas, AAA-The Auto Club Group says. That's above the national average of $4.22 a gallon reported on Wednesday.
The reported average prices in Michigan were $4.02 on Monday, $4.18 on Tuesday and $4.25 Wednesday, according to AAA data. Pricing in the Metro Detroit area on Wednesday ranged from an average $4.23 a gallon in Macomb County to an average of $4.29 a gallon in Oakland County.
To put the current pricing into perspective, AAA says it would cost a motorist $49.82 in gas to make a round trip from Detroit to Grand Rapids when the fuel cost is $4.25 a gallon and the vehicle gets 27 miles per gallon.
Gas prices started going up during early March after several months of retail pricing between $2.80 and $3.15, according to AAA data.
The national gas prices hit $4.17 on April 9, and declined a bit after the U.S. and Iran appeared to be making progress toward a deal to end the war. But international oil prices have since increased. The national price point for a gallon of regular unleaded gas hit $4.18 on Tuesday, and is at $4.22 on Wednesday.
Gas prices in Michigan and other Midwest states have been aggravated by local refinery issues, such as a power outage at a Northwest Indiana facility, said Patrick De Haan, a petroleum expert at GasBuddy.