MARQUETTE COUNTY, Mich. (WZMQ) – Upper Peninsula residents may have noticed about a 26 cent decrease in gas prices over the past week, as a state average for unleaded currently sits at about $4.21.
As of Friday, some gas stations in the Marquette area have started to creep below $4.00 per gallon. However, these prices are still much higher than last June.
“While gas prices are trending downward right now here in Michigan, we’re still looking at prices that are about a dollar higher than what we saw this time last year,” said AAA Public Relations Program Consultant, Adrienne Woodland.
Following tense global situations a few months back, next to companies switching over from purchasing winter blends to summer blends of gas, crude oil trade prices almost doubled. By the end of last week, they’ve slowly eased down to about $20 over-average per barrel.
“Over the past few months, crude oil prices have been really volatile, at times trading above $100 a barrel” explained Woodland. “To put that into perspective, prior to this rise, they were somewhere around $60 a barrel, so that makes a big difference in what you pay at the pump.”
Based on a recent survey by AAA, they say Michiganders don’t plan to cancel their summer trips due to gas prices, more or less adjust to closer destinations or cut back on certain extra activities.
“We found that people still want to take that trip, but what’s changing is how they want to make that work, so we’re seeing a lot more flexibility and planning this year,” said Woodland.
Drivers can keep up to speed on daily average gas prices in your community through the AAA app. More information can be found here.
