SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- In the United States, the average price for a gallon of regular gas is about $3.61, up about 31 cents from last week, according to GasBuddy.
A gallon of regular is now at about 3.60 in Michigan and 3.50 in Indiana. Both states are showing gas prices up at least 25 cents from last week’s average.
Patrick De Haan, Head of Petroleum Analysis at GasBuddy, says with oil prices surging today, a price hike is likely on the way for Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio.
He says the impact we’re noticing at the pump is directly related to what’s happening in the Middle East and Iran blocking the Strait of Hormuz.
“20 million barrels of oil is essentially stuck. 20 million barrels of oil that would be flowing through the Strait of Hormuz on a daily basis is now not getting to the market, and that's causing supply disruptions to start cascading. Oil prices-- skyrocketing as a result of that essential flow of oil being cut off from the market as oil prices have continued to climb, that's obviously had an impact on what you and I are paying at the pump, sending gasoline, diesel and jet fuel prices to their highest levels in years,” said De Haan.
De Haan says there’s no end in sight when it comes to higher prices as Iran is incentivized to continue this for as long as it can.
He also says no amount of oil from the US strategic reserve can push oil prices lower because of the sheer amount of oil that travels through the Strait of Hormuz.
"Many Middle Eastern countries that produce millions of barrels of oil per day, the primary shipping route is through the Strait of Hormuz, basically connecting the Persian Gulf. Connecting countries like Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, all our major oil producers and this is a route that connects the oil to the global market. And with this being severed, there's a massive imbalance in global demand. And that's supply and demand and that's why oil prices are skyrocketing and continue to go up,” said De Haan.
De Haan says the longer this goes, the more impact there will be and it’ll take longer to get back to normal