GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Gas prices are on the rise for the second straight week, but the possibility of relief is not out of the question, experts say.
“A lot of this has to do with the transition to summer gasoline that’s starting to take place. That’s the first step we’ve just (taken) in a bump up in price. And unfortunately, we’re going to take another step to the ultimate summer gasoline here in about two weeks’ time maybe a week and a half,” Patrick De Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said.
Between now and Memorial Day, De Haan said prices tend to increase.
“We may see prices jump another 25 to 40 cents a gallon between now and Memorial Day. There’s a lot of factors that could complicate, could enhance or cause a little bit of a less increase than expected,” he said.
Factors include refinery maintenance and the failure of Silicon Valley Bank.
“Oil prices now giving up a lot of ground on the fear that it could bring an economic slowdown so that could be a factor that actually cools prices off. It could offset part of the expectation we have for a rise in prices over the next few weeks,” De Haan said.
Despite the possibility of an increase, De Haan said he expects gasoline prices to be less this summer than last summer. By Memorial Day, he said we could see $4 per gallon at the pump in West Michigan.
As we move into spring break time, De Haan said the further south you go, the lower the gas prices are.
“Generally speaking the southern states have the lowest gas prices but pretty similar to West Michigan. Not too much cheaper,” he said.
