Michigan gasoline prices, which averaged $3.60 a gallon for regular unleaded, were the talk of Sunday’s political news shows — and the theme of the opening comedy sketch of Saturday Night Live. It probably will be the talk at the office watercooler, too.
“Michigan motorists have seen pump prices rise over the past two weeks as crude oil costs continue climbing,” said Adrienne Woodland, a spokeswoman for AAA. “The good news is that while prices are still up, the pace of those increases has noticeably slowed in the past week.”
Gas prices have remained high, despite efforts by the Trump administration. Oil was trading at about $100 a barrel, skyrocketing as shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz have essentially been shut down.
What’s driving Michigan’s 20% gas price spike
The International Energy Agency has described the crude oil disruptions in the Middle East as “the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market.” The Paris-based organization failed to calm markets by releasing 400 million barrels from reserves.
As of Monday, March 16, gas prices were still up about 20% in Michigan since the start of the U.S. air strikes on Iran more than two weeks ago, rising only two cents in the past week. Nationally, gasoline prices are up more, 25%, at $3.72 a gallon, according to AAA.
How much gas costs across Michigan right now
The highest gas price averages in the state on Sunday were: Ann Arbor, $3.64 a gallon; metro Detroit, also $3.64; and Jackson, $3.59. The lowest area averages: Traverse City, $3.49; Marquette, $3.52, and Benton Harbor, $3.52.
In California — the state with the highest average — gas was $5.53 a gallon.
‘No guarantees’ prices will go down
Households, however, are already feeling the pinch of high gas prices.
“When 20% of the global oil supply gets bottlenecked in a transit lane like the Strait of Hormuz, the market panics instantly,” William Stern, the CEO of Cardiff, a small-business lender based in California, told the Free Press, adding you feel the “squeeze the second you fill up your car just to take the kids to practice.”
Iran has effectively cut off the global supply of oil. The Iranian military has attacked more than a dozen tankers, setting two ships on fire last week. Without a way to ship oil, some Middle East nations will effectively have to shut down or reduce production.
Higher gasoline prices, Stern said, are not the only consequence of the war.
“Every single thing you buy at the grocery store is transported by diesel,” he added. “When global energy costs jump because of a transit disruption, the cost of basic household necessities jumps right along with it.”
In Michigan, diesel averaged $4.88 a gallon, more than $1 a gallon more than a month ago.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright acknowledged in a television interview on ABC’s “This Week” that there were “no guarantees” that oil prices would come down in the coming weeks, but said, “you will see the straits open again in the not-too-distant future.”
So far, there also appears to be no U.S. Navy escorts through the strait, which President Donald Trump had promised, and his demands to other nations, including NATO allies, to send ships to assist the United States were mostly rebuffed.
Reuters reported Spain, Italy and Germany declined. The New York Times reported top officials of Japan, Italy and Australia said “their countries would not participate,” and France, South Korea and Britain, were noncommital.
“What does Trump expect a handful of European frigates to do that the powerful U.S. Navy cannot?” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said, according to USA TODAY. “This is not our war, and we didn’t start it.”
Switch to summer blends
Some Free Press readers pointed out that they have faith in Trump that gas prices will come back down, and that in recent years — following the worldwide pandemic in the summer of 2022 — gas prices have been even higher.
Michigan’s highest gas average was $5.22 a gallon on June 11, 2022.
Gasoline prices rose sharply that year after the United States and the European Union imposed economic sanctions on Russian oil. Russia had invaded Ukraine, and prices did eventually come down.
To help ease oil prices now, Trump has temporarily lifted those Russian oil sanctions, a move that has been criticized as aiding the nation that is still at war with Ukraine and reportedly aiding Iran in the war against America.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, which also tracks gas prices, said Monday that consumers “continue to feel the sting of rising oil, gasoline, and diesel costs as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East remain elevated.”
He added that until the Strait of Hormuz is opened, gas prices will likely rise.
On top of that, he predicted gas price “seasonal forces,” such as a switch to a more expensive summer blend of gas, will create “a double headwind that could continue driving pump prices higher in the weeks ahead.”
What the SNL skit was about
At least, though, for some, the rising gas prices have provided something to laugh at. The SNL’s opening featured a family of four stopping at a gas station to fill up on a trip to grandma’s.
In the skit, the mom said: “Not all the way, though, right?” The dad responded: “We have to.” And the mom retorts: “But it’s $5 a gallon,” telling her kids, a son and daughter, if they do, “we’re going to have to leave one of you behind.”
Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan gas prices jump 20% — and likely to keep rising
Reporting by Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
