Michigan Gas Prices Expected To Soar Amid Ukraine Invasion

MICHIGAN — Russia's invasion into Ukraine and subsequent sanctions placed on Russia from President Biden and U.S. allies will likely raise gas prices, possibly to record levels, officials warned.

Some places in Michigan have already seen gas prices reach up to $3.49, GasBuddy Petroleum Analyst Patrick De Haan told the Detroit News during a Thursday news conference. De Haan warned that curtailing Russia's oil supply with sanctions means Americans will pay more at the pumps. Russia is currently the second-largest oil production in the world.

As of Friday, Michigan drivers paid an average of $3.43 per a gallon, according to AAA. That number is up more than 20 cents from last month and almost a full dollar from this time last year, when drivers paid an average of $2.67.

Gas prices in metro Detroit were fairly close to the state's average, as the average price per gallon in the metro region was around $3.50, according to AAA. Nationally, gas prices averaged $3.57 per gallon as of Friday, up more than 20 cents from a month ago and 90 cents more than a year ago.

With inflation already driving up prices for food, rent, utilities and more in Michigan, soaring gas prices could make the situation worse as the cost of transporting items increases.

"Of course, we feel that at the gas pump," WMU Political Science Professor Jim Butterfield told News Channel 3 In Kalamazoo. "We also feel it in higher prices for goods, which use energy to be created. So that could feed on top of inflation we already have."

Aggressive sanctions imposed by President Biden and other U.S. allies could also further uproot the global supply chains, especially the automotive industry as they continue to battle a shortage of semiconductors and other parts.

"The reality is we are living now in an economy that does not have the shock absorbers of just kind of a general pool of inventory," managing director in the automotive and industrial practice at consulting firm AlixPartners LLP, Dan Hearsch told The Detroit News during an Automotive Press Association webinar in Detroit. "Forget about actual strategic inventory that we want to put in place, and so every little blip gets amplified. It gets that much worse and hits the stock much harder."