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Sticker Shock at the Pump: Michigan gas prices near all-time high
Slight demand increase, slight supply decrease, and a huge swing in crude oil prices prompted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine are sending pump prices to some of their highest levels ever in Michigan.
DEARBORN, Mich. - It's likely Michigan drivers will see gas stations charging over $4 a gallon this week - that is if they haven't already.
The effects of the Russian invasion in Ukraine has prompted a spike in gasoline costs everywhere, and Michigan is no different. The state's average price for a gallon of gas is $3.97 after it rose 42 cents since last week.
It's some of the highest costs for gas since 2008.
"Rising crude oil prices sent Michigan pump prices soaring to the highest prices since June of 2013," said Adrienne Woodland, spokesperson, AAA-The Auto Club Group. "Pump prices will likely continue to rise as crude prices continue to climb."
Michigan drivers were spending $59 on average to fill up a vehicle with a 15-gallon tank of gas. That's about $8 from where prices were at their highest last November.
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The average cost for gas in Metro Detroit actually did hit $4.00 per gallon this week. Marquette in northern Michigan reported the highest, while Traverse City reported the lowest at $3.86.
While the levers of decreased supply and increased demand have played some sway over the price of gasoline, AAA confirms the main reason is for the increasing costs is the price of crude oil.
Crude oil prices continue to surge as conflict in Ukraine over Russian aggression has rocked the market and introduced a lot of uncertainty, which means volatility. Markets tend to move a lot more unpredictably during periods of volatility.
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In an effort to combat the rising price of oil, the International Energy Agency is coordinating the release of 60 million barrels of crude oil to 31 different countries. That includes the U.S. While it's unclear how much each country will get, the U.S. should get about half the number of expected barrels.
Yet, according to AAA, the price of that amount of oil is small in comparison to the amount of oil that flows daily from Russia around the globe. Russia usually exports about 5 million barrels of crude oil every day - about 12% of global trade.