Higher Prices in Michigan Continue to Puzzle

Comment on the September 15 prediction: Oh, look, a fresh hike on September 17 in Michigan, to $3.49. My prediction was WRONG.

Sunday, September 22, 2024, 4 PM: We have seen a mild move upward in wholesale prices the past two weeks, and here in Michigan, our retail friends took advantage to put in another hike, to $3.49, moving from high margins to higher margins. This time, though, some competitors decided not to follow the leaders, and in fact you can get gas for $2.97 in Rockford this afternoon, and $3.29 all over the place.

What are we going to do, Gas Game friends, with this ongoing aggressive pricing to the upside here in Michigan? Here’s an example: The average gas price in Michigan this afternoon ($3.37) is 27 cents more than the average in Ohio ($3.10), despite a difference in state gas tax of only 10 cents. With the aggression factor we’ve been seeing in the data in Michigan for months, if there was a fresh hike, we would be looking at $3.59 – $3.69 here. Arrgh, I just can’t make that prediction, but let’s be vigilant for a possible hike this week! -EA

8 thoughts on “Higher Prices in Michigan Continue to Puzzle

  1. Yup. Expecting a hike in IL this week higher than the last. Wholesale keeps rising riding the recent tide of NYMEX spot and premiums due to expected impact of Whiting maintenance.

  2. Also a hike to 3.55 in Grand Rapids yesterday. Was able to fill up for 3.22 in the midst of it, but not at K&G (Marathon branded stations sometimes don’t play by the same sheet of music). Oil and RBOB gas still down?

  3. Yeah these margins are getting out of hand. Guessing they’re using that outage at the Lemont refinery as an excuse to bump prices up to 3.55 in Michigan.

  4. A jump to $3.299 in SW Ohio last week. There are still pockets of ‘cheap’ gas around the Cincinnati tr-state area. I don’t know when these areas will dry up. I haven’t paid over $3.00 for a gallon of gas since mid-August.

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