DEARBORN, Mich. (WXYZ) — Gas prices are on the rise again in metro Detroit. AAA on Wednesday reported the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded in Michigan is $3.62.
With the price of crude oil increasing and ongoing conflict overseas, prices are up 26 cents compared to this time last week. Some gas station spiked overnight.
Metro Detroit gas station average $3.61 a gallon for regular unleaded, according to AAA. That's close to the statewide average. 7 Action News spoke with several drivers at a BP gas station on Michigan Avenue in Dearborn.
“It is getting really expensive. It is almost $4. So it is kind of depressing,” driver Brooke Lycan said.
Driver James Byrd explained, “I don’t know. I mean, what can we do? I mean, it’s OPEC and really the whole global thing that’s going on. Every time usually when the price is jumping up something catastrophic has happened. Now it’s the Ukraine.”
These drivers expressed feeling helpless with inflation out of their control.
“You just got to ride the wave. Some places are actually $3.90, $3.93 already, so. I’m sure we’re going to be hitting the $5 mark. It wouldn’t surprise me,” driver Chris Morgan said.
Driver Jakise Oree explained, “With the war and everything that’s going on, it’s just going to get worse."
"I drive for a living and I’m not even making enough to cover the gas to where I have a profit. So, now I’m choosing between gas and groceries," she added.
The Dearborn BP we spoke with drivers at charged $3.37 while less than a mile up the road, a Kroger charged $3.79 a gallon.
"We're having crude oil prices, are hitting prices we have not seen in about eight years," Adrienne Woodland, a AAA spokeswoman, told 7 Action News.
"So, the rising crude oil prices are one of the major factors that are going into the rising gasoline prices that we're seeing here in metro Detroit and Michigan and across the country," she explained.
Patrick De Haan, a petroleum analyst with GasBuddy.com, said a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude oil reached $111, which is only $36 from the all-time high.
"All of that happening because not only the Russia situation, but the transition to summer gasoline is also causing a big boost," he explained.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 56% of what you pay at the pump is for the cost of crude oil, 15% goes toward various taxes,16% are transportation costs and retail costs and about 14% are costs for refining.
"But the crude oil is certainly over half of what you're paying and when the price of oil shoots up significantly like it has, that's going to hit you in the wallet and that's what we're seeing with gas prices soaring," De Haan said.
AAA shared ways to save money at the pump:
- Combine errands to limit how often you're driving
- Shop around for the best gas prices
- Remove excess weight from your vehicle
AAA also says aggressive acceleration and speeding interferes with fuel economy. Lastly, consider enrolling in a savings program.
