Michigan gas price average up 4 cents to $3.64 ahead of Memorial Day weekend

Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press

Michigan gas prices went up 4 cents from last week, with motorists paying an average of $3.64 a gallon for regular unleaded, as demand rose, according to AAA, which tracks how much motorists are paying at the pump.

The price is 5 cents lessthan last month, but 29 cents more than last year.

"Michigan motorists are seeing a slight increase in prices at the pump," Adrienne Woodland, a spokeswoman for the auto club, said Monday. "If demand falls alongside rising supply, gas prices could move lower."

A University of Michigan student pumps gasoline at a Shell gas station on Washtenaw Avenue in Ann Arbor.
A University of Michigan student pumps gasoline at a Shell gas station on Washtenaw Avenue in Ann Arbor.

Moreover, AAA predicts nearly 1.3 million Michigan residents will travel in numbers that exceed pre-pandemic levels this year’s Memorial Day weekend, the second-highest forecast since AAA began tracking these numbers in 2000.

National price average drops

At the same time, Gas demand rose modestly from 8.62 million barrels a day to 8.79 million barrels a day.

Meanwhile, total domestic gasoline stocks increased by nearly 1 million barrels to 228 million barrels, and West Texas Intermediate, an oil benchmark, increased by 61 cents to settle at $78.99 a barrel. the average price increase in Michigan, bucked the national trend.

The nation's average price of gasoline dropped this week, falling 3.2 cents from a week ago to $3.58 per gallon today, according to GasBuddy, which also compiles price reports from gas stations across the country. The national average is down 3.7 cents from a month ago but is 6.1 cents per gallon higher than a year ago.

"We’ve seen the average price of gasoline drop in a majority of states over the last week as refineries finish maintenance and ramp up output of products like gasoline," Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said. "With gas prices now nearing a 10-cent drop to the high we saw a few weeks ago."

De Haan said "the future looks good as we get closer to Memorial Day" and that "price drops could potentially accelerate after last week’s jobs data shows the economy continues to cool off." He predicted "the worst is behind us."

Most Americans, he added, will see prices fall before the holiday weekend."

Most expensive gas price averages in Michigan

  • Jackson: $3.73

  • Lansing: $3.72

  • Saginaw: $3.71

Least expensive gas prices averages in Michigan

  • Marquette: $3.57

  • Metro Detroit: $3.59

  • Benton Harbor: $3.65

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan gas prices rise as Memorial weekend approaches

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