Gas prices spiked across the Midwest late last week, but it has very little to do with the coming Labor Day weekend. Kara Hitchens with AAA says there was an interruption in the supply chain.
鈥淟ate last week, there was some . That caused a slowdown in some of the production,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hings are back up now. Things have been resolved. We should probably 鈥� fingers crossed 鈥� see those prices come back down again.鈥�
Hitchens says a lot of different factors play into price fluctuations.
鈥淒emand: a heavy travel weekend could be it. Weather can play a huge role. We are in the middle of hurricane season,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd then we always talk about any kind of global geo-political unrest, we always figure that鈥檚 going to impact gas prices as well.鈥�
With the refinery issue settled, she expects prices to .
鈥淲e always talk about filling up before the (holiday) weekend 鈥� filling it up on a Tuesday or a Wednesday is generally best,鈥� she says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 not a high demand.鈥�
Hitchens says as of Monday, the national average for a gallon of unleaded is $3.16. A year ago it was $3.35. In Ohio, the average right now is $3.32 a gallon, up a dime from a year ago.
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