Refinery back up; gas prices should fall

Gasoline price information

The news that BP’s Whiting, Indiana, refinery has safely been restarted should have a positive effect on local gasoline prices, according to gasoline price monitoring firm GasBuddy.

Analysts are anticipating a steep decline in gasoline prices throughout the Midwest, so long as operations at the Whiting refinery (and others in the region) continue with no new problems.

Gasoline prices in Ohio, Illinois, Michigan and Indiana, as well as neighboring states, could fall 20-50 cents a gallon over the next two weeks, according to analysts. Furthermore, as gas stations buy cheaper gasoline, they will pass savings along to motorists, but will also attempt to recoup margin losses sustained from the unprecedented spike in wholesale prices that occurred two weeks ago.