Gas prices keep climbing, and refinery resolutions may not be enough to stop them
Chicago and surrounding areas have felt climbing gas prices more acutely lately due to some refinery issues, but resolving those won't necessarily be enough to stop the skyrocketing.
Data from GasBuddy shows a recent uptick in the cost for an average gallon of gas in the Chicago area just in the past few days. Head analyst Patrick De Haan said refinery issues have been part of that problem.
"We've seen a lot of refinery issues here across the Great Lakes region," he said.
Refineries in the region are still feeling the effects of recent power outages, as well as seasonal fixes, which are compounding the impact of the war in Iran affecting the Strait of Hormuz.
"Kind of like before a long road trip, before the start of the summer, refineries carry out routine maintenance, but during that maintenance, it inhibits their ability to produce as much gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other products," De Haan explained.
That's led to our area feeling a more acute rise in gas prices recently. Two gas stations in the city that CBS News Chicago visited Wednesday priced a gallon of regular gasoline at $6.35 and $5.89.
Refinery issues being resolved will bring some relief, but it won't fix the overall challenges, De Haan said.
"As long as the strait remains closed, we could eventually see gas prices going back up the longer the straight remains closed," he said.
According to GasBuddy, the current average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas is $5.26 in the city, still short of the all-time record of $5.95 in June 2022. De Haan said reaching that milestone again remains a possibility in the near future.
"it's not impossible. If the straight remains closed and we see more refining issues down the road, we could get close to that. I don't think we'll necessarily— We're not on the trajectory yet, of knocking that record out, but we could get there," he said.
But it's already a record year.
"Chicago's average for diesel now at a new all-time record high. The same thing we're seeing statewide. And it's not just Illinois, it's really across the entirety of the Midwest," said De Haan.
De Haan said the ongoing war with Iran will keep impacting prices as the summer travel season approaches.
"If it was a normal summer, gas prices don't usually peak in the summer itself, but usually in April or May as we make all of those changeovers to summer gasoline as maintenance is ongoing," he said. "Usually gas prices start to ease over the course of the summer. Of course, that may not happen this year as long as the Strait of Hormuz continues to be an issue."
