(WXYZ — Over the last few weeks, we've been seeing some of the highest gas prices of the year.
Part of the reason for the increase — a refinery outage, on top of an increase in demand for summer travel.
Here is the good news: an expert told me prices peaked on July 25, and that from here on out, prices should be going down.
However, there are some factors that could push prices up.
No one likes paying for gas, so it is really no surprise that drivers I spoke to say they are shelling out too much cash to fill up.
"They're rather high," said Kathy Thompson of Southfield. “I do know when I go to fill up my tank, it used to be 30 and now it is 45, so, and for a Honda CRV that’s expensive.”
“I’m at the gas station every week, filling it up, so yeah I would like for the prices to be a lot lower," said Detroiter Erika Griggs.
While experts say prices are trending down from a late July spike, there are two factors that could push prices back up, including fighting in the Middle East.
“When we are dealing with wars and gas prices it seems that there is some type of correlation," said Metro Detroiter Lindsey Mason III.
Hurricane season also plays a factor, especially if bad weather hits like it did in Joliet, Illinois, when a tornado and severe storms swept through the region, leading to a shutdown of an Exxon mobile refinery that helps supply four Midwest states, including Michigan.
“Now with that refinery finally restarting here about three weeks after the power outage, we are likely to start to see a little bit more downward pressure," said Patrick De Haan, the Head of Petroleum Analysis at Gas Buddy.
He tells me a waiver from the Environmental Protection Agency for a different blend of gas is helping alleviate prices at the pump and replenish supply.
And while there is concern on Wall Street, with the Down dropping a thousand points earlier in the week, it could lead to cheaper prices at the pump.
“As goes the stock market as go oil prices, economy fears will likely play into falling gas prices this week," De Haan said.
And those prices will likely continue to go down, into the Fall and Winter months.
“We are anticipating that potential by October or November we are going to see some stations in areas across Michigan falling below three dollars a gallon and it will have nothing to do with the election, but everything to do with the fact gasoline is very seasonal, prices are higher in the summer, and they fall in the fall and winter," De Haan said.
And it's those falling prices drivers are hopeful for.
“I’m going to be prayerful, I know they going up, but I am going to be prayerful that they will go down," said metro Detroit driver Oten Wyatt Jr.
