(PatrioticPost.com)- An analyst in the petroleum industry warned over the weekend that gas prices are likely to increase drastically in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan.
Patrick De Haan, the head petroleum analyst with GasBuddy predicted that with an uptick in wholesale prices squeezing profits at gas stations that aggressively lowered prices amid a broader national falling trend, prices in these states are poised to shoot up again soon.
De Haan said a 15-cent-per-gallon rise in the price of wholesale gas means stations in some areas are losing money. With retail prices in these areas at or below profit margin, gas stations in Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio could see prices jump to between $3.09 and $3.25, while gas prices in Illinois may jump even higher.
As of Monday, the average retail price for a gallon of regular was $3.002 in Ohio, $3.091 in Michigan, $3.046 in Indiana, and $3.372 in Illinois. While well above the average from one year ago, these averages are lower than they were a week ago and a month ago.
De Haan believes all four states that dropped prices by five cents last week are now poised to raise prices back up again this week.
Nationally, the average price per pump dropped 11 cents a gallon over the previous month. Though that is still $1.03 per gallon more than a year ago when the national average stood at $2.253 per gallon.
Last week, White House officials were spiking the football over the broader trend of falling pump prices. But according to AAA, as demand reduced last week, the pace of the decrease in gas prices slowed. What’s more, a potential increase in crude prices is likely to trigger a price increase at the pump.
In November, high gas prices were one of the major factors pushing inflation to a four-decade high, prompting the Biden administration to announce before Thanksgiving that it would release 50 million barrels of oil from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserves.
Republicans lawmakers slammed the move and have consistently criticized President Biden for killing domestic energy production while demanding OPEC boost supply.
