LANSING, Mich. — Filling up in Michigan keeps getting a little cheaper. The statewide average for a gallon of regular unleaded stood at $4.01 on Wednesday, Nov. 11, in AAA figures, and some stations in southeast Michigan have already slipped under the $4 mark.
The drop has been steady and fast. The AAA average was $4.17 on Monday and $4.07 on Tuesday. A week earlier drivers were paying $4.40, and a month ago the figure was $4.66. Since the day after the Nov. 3 election, regular gas has fallen about 40 cents a gallon.
That is a sharp turn from late October, when AAA put the statewide average at $4.83 a gallon after a 32-cent jump in a single week, close to record territory just ahead of the vote.
Diesel is easing too, though more slowly. Diesel prices have come down about 19 cents over the same stretch, which matters for truckers, farmers finishing harvest and anyone whose costs ride on freight.
Analysts point to a mix of reasons. Stations have switched over to cheaper winter-blend gasoline, people tend to drive less as the weather turns cold, and refineries are running more crude, adding supply. Hopes for diplomacy with Iran and more oil moving out of the Persian Gulf have also helped. How long the slide lasts may depend on whether tensions with Iran flare again.
Michigan prices are still running a bit above the national average. AAA, through The Auto Club Group, publishes its gas price trend report every Monday and updates its price database daily, so drivers can check county-by-county averages before they fill up.
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