Michigan gas price averages drop to lowest this year

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Gas price averages are at a new 2023 low, according to data from AAA.

Michigan drivers are paying an average of $2.96 per gallon for regular unleaded gasoline. This is 35 cents less than this time last month and 12 cents less than this time last year.

This price equates to an average of $44 for a full 15-gallon tank of gasoline, down about $34 from 2022's highest price last June.

In Metro Detroit, the average daily gas price decreased about 12 cents less from last week and 3 cents less than that same time last year. Metro Detroit’s current average is $2.97 per gallon.

Drivers can expect to pay about the same or less for a gallon of gas than they did last holiday season, when the Michigan average on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day was $2.99 and $3.19, respectively.

"As the state average drops below $3 a gallon, Michigan motorists are seeing the lowest gas prices so far this year," said Adrienne Woodland, spokesperson, AAA-The Auto Club Group. "If oil prices remain low, drivers can expect pump prices to do the same during the holiday season."

AAA said that at the close of Wednesday’s formal trading session, WTI increased by 86 cents to settle at $69.47. 

Oil prices increased after the US Federal Reserve announced that it plans to hold interest rates steady through the end of the year and potentially reduce rates up to three times in 2024. The market had been concerned that the economy could tip into a recession if interest rates kept increasing. Oil demand and prices would likely decline if a recession occurred. Additionally, the EIA reported that total domestic commercial crude inventories decreased by 4.3 million bbl to 440.7 million bbl.

Most expensive gas price averages:

1. Marquette ($3.18)
2. Jackson ($3.11)
3. Ann Arbor ($3.04)

Least expensive gas price averages:

1. Traverse City ($2.87)
2. Benton Harbor ($2.88)
3. Flint ($2.89)

Watch FOX 2 News Live