Joseph S. Pete
The Times, Munster, Ind.
(TNS)
Indiana gas prices skyrocketed by 84 cents a gallon on Wednesday, more than in any other state in the nation.
Industry analysts blamed the surge in gas prices in the Great Lakes area to the war on Iran, the continued blockage of the Strait of Hormuz and the BP Whiting Refinery outage Sunday. Gas Buddy Head of Petroleum Analysis Patrick De Haan projects gas prices will rise to an average of $4.99 a gallon in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio and to $4.29 a gallon in Wisconsin.
Gas prices have soared this week by 84 cents a gallon, the highest amount in the nation, to $4.54 a gallon in Indiana as of Thursday, according to GasBuddy.com. Michigan saw an increase by 72 cents a gallon, Ohio 60 cents a gallon and Illinois 39 cents a gallon this week.
“Americans will spend half a billion dollars more on gasoline over the next 24 hours compared to March 1,” De Haan said. “Since March 1, Americans have spent $21.7 billion more on filling their tanks with gasoline. That includes today’s addition to that figure — $509 million.”
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He said prices in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois and Wisconsin are at their highest levels since the summer of 2022, and are approaching records.
U.S. gas prices hit an average of $4.30 a gallon on Wednesday, also marking their highest amount since 2022, according to GasBuddy. Wholesale prices surged in the Great Lakes states, not just for gasoline but for diesel and jet fuel too.
“The market is completely unhinged,” De Haan said. “Jet fuel for one market today surged by 91 cents per gallon. It’s hard to fathom how panicked the market is right now in the Great Lakes.”
Gas prices started Wednesday under $4 a gallon and then jumped twice, De Haan said. It was a “double spike day.”
“I don’t believe in my 20 years I’ve ever seen this — $4.79, then updated to $4.99. Unprecedented,” he said. “What’s even more wild that the market has completely gone insane is that all three markets are the same: Michigan, Indiana and Ohio.”
© 2026 The Times (Munster, Ind.). Visit www.nwitimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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