Michigan gas prices have climbed to nearly $5 a gallon, with motorists in Metro Detroit facing another sharp increase as the US-Iran conflict and continued disruption around the Strait of Hormuz drive up global oil costs.
The statewide average for regular unleaded reached $4.75 on Thursday, up from $4.54 the previous day, according to AAA Michigan. The average had risen by 28 cents in the week to September 14 and was more than a dollar higher than at the same time last year.
Prices in the Detroit area were higher still. A Shell station on Dequindre Road in Madison Heights was selling regular petrol for $5.04 a gallon for customers paying by credit card, or $4.94 for cash.
AAA said Metro Detroit’s average price had reached $4.72, compared with $4.26 a week earlier. Across Michigan, diesel had risen to a record $6.54 a gallon, up from $5.92 the previous week.
The latest increase follows a rise in crude oil prices to about $100 a barrel, amid continuing volatility around the Strait of Hormuz. AAA said the national average for regular petrol had reached $4.43 a gallon, 16 cents higher than a week earlier and more than a dollar above the level recorded a year ago.
Michigan’s 52.4-cent-a-gallon fuel tax is the sixth-highest in the United States. State leaders could suspend the tax to reduce prices at the pump, but no such move had been announced by Thursday.
