CLEVELAND — Everyone is talking about gas prices right now. You’ve probably noticed fuel costs are rising rapidly. One big reason is the war with Iran.
The Midwest is dealing with the most significant price swings due to an outage at a gas refinery in Indiana. The facility shut down on Sunday, driving up wholesale prices instantly.
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In Northeast Ohio, gas prices jumped 50 cents or more in a single day. At some stations, regular gas is now $4.99 a gallon — the highest since 2022.
Jeff Lenard, a spokesperson for the National Association of Convenience Stores, said that the recent price hike is unusual.
“These types of swings are very uncommon. We don't normally see these wild wholesale and retail price swings,” said Lenard.
Lenard said gas station owners are feeling the squeeze, too. Usually, about 90% of the price of gas is determined before gas stations get possession of it. The markup is around 35 cents and expenses are about 25 cents, so owners typically make about 10 cents a gallon — or roughly $1 on a fill-up. However, when there is a dramatic price increase, it’s not uncommon for gas station owners to make a few cents or even lose a few cents per gallon.
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It’s unclear when the Indiana refinery will return to normal operations, so drivers should expect prices to remain unusually high for a while.
This article was originally produced by Mike Brookbank and Sara Roth for the Scripps News Group station in Cleveland.
