GasBuddy.com says the average price for gas Kalamazoo has jumped 34 cents in two days, settling at $2.36 a gallon.
Patrick DeHaan, a senior petroleum analyst with the company, says there’s a very simple reason as to why prices have made the sharp jump.
“We are certainly still very dependent on what the price of oil is doing, and, earlier this week, the price of oil shot up by about $4 a barrel,” DeHaan said.
The cost of wholesale gas saw a similar increase and station owners opted to pass the hike onto consumers.
“It certainly did not help that most stations across the area well selling gasoline at a small loss, likely very eager to sell it below $2, but there wasn’t a whole lot of margin,” DeHaan said.
DeHaan expects regular to fall near $2 again by the end of the year.
– Anthony Pollreisz
