If you think you’re going to see gas prices below $1 per gallon, think again.
Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, says while prices nationally will keep falling for a little longer, the Great Lakes region will see prices go up.
“We saw an unofficial price cycle start Tuesday. The Chicago contract, which dictates prices for the Great Lakes states, rolled over to June. With it, we saw about a 20 cent jump in the wholesale price of gasoline,” says DeHaan.
DeHaan says you can kiss those “ultra-low” dollar gas prices goodbye.
“If you happen to see a station under a dollar, fill up ASAP because that price is going to disappear. Some stations across Indianapolis have raised prices to $1.69,” says DeHaan.
DeHaan says we are now seeing summer gasoline in the market, which is much different than winter gasoline.
“Winter gasoline generally contains more butane. That butane leads to more emissions, but that butane tends to be much cheaper. Once you roll to summer gasoline, a lot of that cheap butane is coming out and being inserted are more expensive blending components that drive the price up,” says DeHaan.
Despite the recent slight gas price increase in Indiana and other Great Lakes states, DeHaan says the coronavirus pandemic has driven oil prices to lows not seen in decades.
GasBuddy says the average price for gas across Indiana is $1.47 per gallon. In April 2019, the statewide average was $2.90.
