Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


Motorists can expect to encounter fluctuating gas prices as oil refineries change over to winter-grade fuel but they should eventually start to drop.

As of mid-week, gas prices were averaging $3.42 a gallon for regular unleaded – which was up about 9-cents compared to that time last week but actually 4-cents less than on Monday. It’s also around 30-cents less than this time last year, according to AAA Michigan.

AAA Michigan Spokeswoman Adrienne Woodland told WHMI prices are slowly going down but this time of year is not uncommon to see price fluctuations. She said a lot of the recent increase seen was related to refinery maintenance in the Midwest, along with the switch over from summer blend to winter blend of gasoline.

That transition is ongoing and usually takes multiple weeks. Woodland said it typically starts toward the end of September and runs through early to mid-October, so we’re right in the middle of it now.

Prices at the pump typically decline during this time of year due to lower demand after the busy summer driving season has concluded, as well as the changeover from summer-blend to a cheaper-to-produce winter-blend gasoline.