Gas Prices: A Michigan Rollercoaster with a Side of Political Ping-Pong!
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Transcript
19 segmentsWell, we've seen a little bit of relief over the last week. I'll take a little. Just a little. Gas prices here in the state of Michigan have seen their first double-digit drop in weeks. Let's talk about it. Adrian Woodland, the spokesperson with AAA Michigan Auto Club, joins us to talk about it. Adrian, good morning. It's good to have you back. Good morning. Thanks for having me on the show. You got it. Gas prices here in Michigan down 15 cents from a week ago. That's good news. What's driving that? So we saw a decrease in crude oil prices, particularly last week. So crude oil prices were down to end the week, and so that's helping to push pump prices downward. And for example, filling up this week, should they feel good about where prices are or cautious about what's coming next? Prices are still elevated, especially compared to this time last year. So today the average in Michigan is about 380. That's still 66 cents higher than what we saw this time last year. And while we saw a decrease in crude oil prices, crude is still... trading in the 80s, actually like high 80, a barrel, which is still above where crude oil was in February, which was down into about the high 60s, low 70s. So can we expect this downward trend to continue, or are we still on the roller coaster? You know, swings of the pump may not be over. Volatility remains, and prices could certainly change quickly. And, you know, Adrian, there's this, I'm trying to understand this spread across the state because you've got places like Benton Harbor and Ann Arbor, a little higher, Flint, Saginaw, lower. What causes those regional differences? There's a lot of different factors in terms of the regional differences, including as simple as how easy it is to get the gasoline to that particular place, as well as demand, particularly since. Since a lot of prices have gone up, we haven't always seen the higher places be higher. Like typically, places like Metro Detroit and Ann Arbor tend to be some of your most more expensive metro areas in the state. That has kind of flipped again with the volatility, with the prices going up and down. So that has changed. Metro Detroit right now is actually right along with the state average. at about $3.81.1 a gallon. Adrian Woodland, thank you so much for your time. Really appreciate it. It's a good thing to see these numbers come down, certainly. We'll see how long it lasts. Thanks for having me. Yeah, you got it. You got it. Yeah, I mean, you know, we're heading into the summer travel season as well. And, you know, I'm hoping that these prices continue to come down because, you know, it affects our tourism here. Absolutely. Especially up north. Absolutely. Interesting. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Sunday that gas prices may not drop below $3 a gallon until next year. People don't want to hear that. They're like, what?
Well, we'll see you later on that note. Have a great day. No. People don't want to hear that. No, but what's interesting is the difference of opinion between Chris Wright and Donald Trump because Chris Wright says, all right, well, gas probably isn't going to be below $3 a gallon until next year because of this war with Iran and all of the ripple effects that that has had on the energy markets. And Donald Trump, his response. No, I think he's wrong on that. Totally wrong. When he was asked by the Hill in a phone conversation, he said that as soon as this ends, referring to the war on, gas prices will start to drop. Now, I do believe gas prices are going to drop. Oh, yeah. When this thing does come to an end. But you know, it doesn't get to, you know, it doesn't get to the pump when it's falling. You know, as quick as it does when it's rising. It's not like, boy, it's dark in this room. I better turn the lights on. Right. It ain't like that. It ain't like that. No, no. But at the same time, what Scott Bessent, for example, has said is, well, boy, when this thing first started and before you even had to pay more for that oil, your get your prices were way up. Mm-hmm. That was more like flipping a switch than anything. Now it did gradually go up, but it was in chunks. So his point was, well, then I hope you start to lower your prices, gas stations, as quickly as you rose them. And that's probably not realistic either. He says we're keeping an eye on it and whatever ominous words those mean. But the president is in direct contracts with Chris Wright's assessment, the energy secretary, and of course he's going to be. I've seen people, you know, it's funny. I was watching CNN yesterday, and they were talking about this. And I, Brianna, it was a Brianna Noble on CNN? Uh-huh. And she was like, oh, I can't. So the president and Chris Wright or the, I'm more inclined to believe one of his secretaries. And I'm like, oh, okay, come. I mean, let's pump the brakes here a little bit. All you do is rag on the secretaries. Right. But now you want to believe him? Because you like what he's saying? It's crazy. Regardless, there is a point which is, I think Chris Wright is probably more right than Donald Trump is. because of it is going to be gradual. And so we're already in April, end of April here. Right. Now, whether or not they get lower than $3 a gallon, I don't know. If you can get down to $3.10, $3.15, I'll be happy. I don't need, I don't, look, I don't need gas to be 95 cents a gallon anymore. That's not realistic. It's not. Right? We all know that. Exactly. It would be nice. But we're not expecting that. No. So get it down to a place where people can afford. Get it down to those low threes. And I think the $3 per gallon, Chris, has kind of become that psychological benchmark, you know, for affordability, I think.
Because I hear more people saying three or below three. That's three or below three. That's what they say. You know, it's funny because I think it depends. Like it depends. Yes, you're probably right. You're probably like it's probably the, the. the Rochow test on where you want to be, where you feel comfortable. I can see that being true. But that's still pretty expensive. It is. I mean, compared to, you know, when oil was $62 a barrel and I was paying $2.42. Right. Again, that's great. I would love that. Absolutely would love it. It would save me a lot of money. But... I just, I think we get, I think we let the gas price thing get out of control until it reaches $4 a gallon, right? You're out, you're out west. Yeah. You're paying four, five, six bucks a gallon. Yes. It's absolutely crazy. So yeah, you might be right. Three dollars might be that line. And we'd like it to see it right around there as much as possible. Yeah. Seven o'clock hour coming up. Donald Trump also loosening restrictions on psychedelics. We'll tell you about it.