We woke up yesterday to another round of gasoline price increases around Battle Creek and Kalamazoo. Many stations bumped prices up to $2.55 a gallon for regular unleaded. At the same time, GasBuddy.com was showing one retail station in metro Detroit was still under the $2 a gallon mark. By a penny. But still under. Many stations around Detroit were in the $2.10 range. At the start of the week, AAA Michigan was reporting an average 12 cent a gallon jump for regular compared to the prior week. The average around Michigan according to AAA was at $2.39 a gallon on Monday.  That’s $0.15 higher than last month. But it’s $0.07 less than where we were at a year ago.

Auto club analysts believe more expensive pricing for crude oil is driving the price. But how that affects the retail price in some counties in Michigan but not others is something no one can explain with any degree of clarity.

AAA spokesperson Adrienne Woodward says, "Sustained crude oil prices above $50 per barrel have helped push pump prices in Michigan to the highest levels since February of 2020. Gas prices will likely hold steady or see moderate increases through this week."

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Some say the writing was on the wall based on the 2020 Presidential election. The website GasBuddy.com was offering a prediction about gasoline prices about a month prior to the November general election. Here is the website comparison of Democrat candidate Joe Biden and incumbent President Donald Trump:

“President Trump’s policies are generally regarded as populist and pro-business, while perhaps marginalizing environmental factors. Trump is likely to keep the status quo on the oil industry, keeping prices at the pump lower. Trump has controversially talked about opening new areas for drilling, something that’s not really necessary to keeping prices in check.

A Joe Biden presidency would favor more environmental controls with respect to drilling and emissions, increasing fuel mileage standards, alternative vehicle power like electricity, expanded tax credits benefiting fuel efficient vehicle owners, and evolving from fossil fuels. Under this agenda, gas prices are more likely to be impacted. If Biden curtails production such as shutting down existing production, gas prices could climb significantly. if either Biden is elected and acts to curb oil supply while not offering a major new program to move Americans away from their internal combustion-powered vehicles.”

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