Gas prices on the rise in the metro

On Wednesday, Kenosha County stations were charging $2.45 to $2.59 a gallon for regular unleaded.

Gas prices have dropped below $3 a gallon and consumers may be able to breathe a sign of relief as analysts predict they will hold steady – for now.

“This is a harsh market.” he said.

Despite refineries going offline to conduct scheduled maintenance, there should still be more than enough gasoline to meet demand because people tend to drive less this time of year.

“We don’t think it will be as dramatic an increase as earlier this year”.

The relatively low cost of crude oil was fueling the price declines, AAA’s October. 1 report said, a factor that soon changed when that pesky major supply disruption occurred.

Twelve refineries in the region are now undergoing work: three in Illinois and Ohio, two in Minnesota, and one in Indiana, Kansas, Oklahoma and Kentucky.

“Less gas is being produced right now”. DeHaan says production in the Midwest has already dropped from 100 percent to about 80 percent in recent weeks. Refineries need to make repairs and gear facilities to start making winter season fuel blends from the more ozone friendly summer gasoline.

“In a few cases, they’ve been working on resolving unplanned issues”, DeHaan added. Gas on Friday in Saint Joseph ranged from 2.37 a gallon to 2.43 a gallon.

WATERLOO | In automotive terms, gas prices across the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metropolitan area – indeed, across the region – are about to floor it. Still, that’s down from $3.14 a year ago.