Gasoline prices in Michigan hit $4.35 a gallon, as two major oil companies warned that global fuel supplies were tightening and Iran contradicted President Donald Trump’s claim that deal talks were — once again — back on this week.
The latest prices, the AAA auto club said on Monday, Aug. 3, were the highest they’ve been in months.
"By later this week," Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, which also tracks gas prices, added, "the national average could reach its highest level ever recorded for this point in the calendar year, a sobering milestone, even as prices remain well below the all-time record set in 2022."
Gas prices were up 13 cents a gallon from a week ago on Monday in Michigan, with diesel reaching $5.41 a gallon,
also up from 5.22 a gallon a week ago, according to AAA. Nationally, the average was $4.10 a gallon; the all-time high was $5.02 in 2022.
"Michigan motorists continue to see higher costs at the pump, with gas prices reaching their highest level since May," said Adrienne Woodland, a spokeswoman for AAA said. "While market conditions remain volatile, drivers may continue to see prices fluctuate."
Motorists are paying an average of $65 for a full 15-gallon tank of gasoline.
Sunday, the most expensive average gas prices in the state were in Lansing, $4.43 a gallon; Jackson, $4.43; and Traverse City, $4.42; the least, in Marquette, $4.15; Grand Rapids, $4.33; and metro Detroit, $4.34. The statewide average, however, also was still below the all-time highs for gasoline and diesel.
The record price for gas in the state was $5.22 four years ago, while diesel hit $6.21 a gallon just last May. The steep increase for diesel has helped drive up consumer retail prices and stoke inflation concerns. Diesel powers commercial trucks, which, when it rises, adds to the cost to transport goods.
Average gasoline prices did drop from Sunday to Monday by a penny.
Late last week, Reuters reported two top oil produces ExxonMobil and Chevron warned, however, that "global supplies of diesel and other refined products will likely remain tight" and that could "lead to persistently high prices in the second half of the year."
In recent weeks, Iran has also widen the scope of the conflict by hitting new targets and effectively restricting oil shipping through other Mideast waterways, putting more pressure on the world’s oil supply and effectively creating a global energy crisis.
So far, Pentagon data shows the conflict has claimed the lives of 18 U.S. service members and injured 600 more, although the Trump administration has been criticized for appearing to minimize the number of war-connected deaths and casualties.
Trump said in a social media post this weekend that he had agreed to "hold off any attack" and suggested that "a deal has been agreed to" that he claimed would lead to the complete and total opening of the Strait of Hormuz. It is not the first time Trump has made such claims.
He also, in what has become a familiar pattern, threatens new attacks on Iran and then calls them off.
This weekend, he told reporters he had planned to order an assault “that would have been the biggest attack since World War II” and would have been "disastrous for them." But then changed his mind, claiming that it was part of an effort to once again restart diplomacy.
Contrary to what Trump had claimed, Iran’s foreign ministry said it was not in talks with the United States. Instead, Iran said, the United States is in discussions with Oman; but, it added, any agreements would be insufficient to fully reopen the waterway.
Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan gas prices now highest in months, may keep rising
