Despite
a slight drop in gas prices, Michigan still has one of the highest fuel rates
in the U.S.
The average cost of a gallon of
regular was $3.98 Monday, down six cents from last week, according to the AAA
Daily Fuel Gauge.
Michigan -- with the fourth-highest
average fuel cost in the country, behind Hawaii ($4.16), California ($4.08) and
Illinois ($4.03) -- is still recovering ground from the Enbridge pipeline that
was shut down late last month after a spill in Wisconsin and a trio of refinery
malfunctions in Wood River, Ill.; Lemont, Ill., and Whiting, Ind., which caused
prices to shoot up 39 cents in one week.
Detroiters are paying an average of $4
per gallon, down four cents since last week. Last month, the average was $3.57.
Analysts say gas prices won't come
down in Michigan immediately.
"That oil is flowing back to the
refinery. That's bringing down prices. The Whiting refinery is coming back
online," said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst for the Chicago-based
Price Futures Group. "A lot depends on crude oil as we go further. Because
now that these problems have passed, the expectation is that (gas prices)
should come back down."
Crude was $92.82 a barrel, down a
little bit Monday.
While Michiganders are getting a bit
of relief at the pump, the national fuel cost average has increased to $3.69
from $3.61 last week, the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge determined.
The Enbridge pipeline was restarted
last week.
Also possibly contributing to higher
Midwestern gas prices was the temporary shutdown of the West Shore pipeline in
Wisconsin after a leak; some of that flow to Green Bay ultimately makes its way
to gas stations in the Upper Peninsula, said Jennifer Brumbach, the Midwest
refined products editor for the Oil Price Information Service.
Adding to the national mix are
concerns about unrest in the Middle East,
decreased production in the North Sea and the Chevron refinery that shut down in California after a fire, according to analysts.
decreased production in the North Sea and the Chevron refinery that shut down in California after a fire, according to analysts.
Carl Larry, president of New
York-based Oil Outlooks and Opinions, was less optimistic.
"If crude oil prices go up and if
driving demand continues to increase, we're not going to see a dip in gasoline
prices until the end the year, like we normally would," he said.
"Prices are going to stay here. They're not going to go down. We have too
many issues."
But Stephen Schork of the
Pennsylvania-based Schork Group wasn't as bleak.
"Definitely with capacity coming
back online, you're indeed seeing some weakness taken out of the Midwest
markets," he said. "Michigan, Detroit, the upper Midwest area, you've
got a kind of market that's in transition."
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