Average retail gasoline prices in Michigan have risen 4.9 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.92 per gallon Sunday. This compares with the national average that has fallen 1.4 cents per gallon in the last week to $3.89 per gallon, according to gasoline price website MichiganGasPrices.com.
Including the change in gas prices in Michigan during the past week, prices Sunday were 2.2 cents per gallon lower than the same day one year ago and 4.0 cents per gallon lower than a month ago.
“The only thing I remain sure of with gasoline prices is that things will remain quite volatile the next four to six weeks,” said Patrick DeHaan, a senior petroleum analyst with GasBuddy.com.
“Spot prices, a leading factor in retail gasoline prices, continue to swing wildly from region to region. Last week we saw a refinery fire on the West Coast drive up spot prices nearly instantaneously, an event that could occur in virtually any area. It’s these events, the unforeseeable reaction, that gives me reason to say that prices may continue to swing upward and downward.”