Another price hike to $2.59?

Another price hike to $2.59? What is going on here? I’ve been laying low this month because I am having trouble figuring this out. The weekly report that the DOE publishes on gas prices (tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/twip/twip_gasoline.html) does indicate that wholesale and retail prices in the Midwest are running at least 10 cents higher than for New York, and that explains the “Chicago Premium” we are paying right now. Also, frequent price hikes like we have seen lately occurs when wholesale prices are rising sharply. In the past, Speedway et. al. haven’t let retail prices drop to the 0-cent margin price when frequent wholesale prices occur.The question is why are Midwest prices so high right now? My Gas Buddy pdhaudio says the (Midwest?) refineries are slowing down production. Let’s keep an eye on this, and let’s worry, because NYMEX is up 9 cents today, as of this writing! There was another price hike on Thursday the 16th to $2.65. It was not enthusiastically embraced by all retailers, though.