Aug. 13--Never mind. Gas prices are rising, again.
Analysts who had expected gas prices to continue to fall over the next six weeks now say prices are likely to spike in Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin during the next few weeks. Prices also could head higher in Kentucky and Missouri, said Will Speer, a senior petroleum analyst with GasBuddy.com.
Blame BP's oil refinery in Whiting, Ind., which on Saturday shut down the largest of its three crude distillation units for "unscheduled" repairs, according to a news release on BP's website. The outage, the company said, has reduced production. A BP spokesman couldn't say when the unit will be back online.
The refinery, the largest in the Midwest, can process more than 19 million gallons of refined fuel per day, or enough fuel to run 430,000 cars.
In the meantime, Speer said prices will likely increase through early September and then fall again.
Regular gas prices averaged $2.81 in the Chicago metro area on Wednesday, up 6 cents from Tuesday and more than 20 cents from the national average, according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report.
acancino@tribpub.com
