Gas prices spiking to $3.89: Why?

CINCINNATI - UPDATE:  8/2/12:   Speedway is now  joining price hike.

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Just when we were getting comfortable with gas prices in the $3.49 to $3.59 range, the price at the pump is going up to a level we haven't seen in three months.

Cincinnati-area Speedway stations on Thursday raised prices to $3.89 for regular.  This comes one day after BP and Shell stations raised prices to $3.85 on Wednesday, the second price hike this week.

Prices jumped to $3.69 Monday, which now feels "cheap," by comparison.

Gas Buddy.com expects all stations in the area to be in the $3.85 range by Friday.

Two Jumps in One Week:  Why?

In some areas, prices spiked from $3.39 to $3.69, then from $3.69 to $3.89 in just 48 hours. That's a 50-cent jump this week.

AAA says supply issues are impacting gas prices across the Midwest right now, and say this has nothing to do with the price of oil, which has been steady around $89 a barrel. 

AAA says two refineries, one in Indiana and one in Illinois, are having problems.  In addition, a pipeline from Canada to the Midwest is having supply issues.  Put it all together, AAA says, and you have supply issues from Ohio through Illinois.

The auto group expects the supply issues, and prices, to ease in the next two weeks, and drop again after Labor Day, when summer driving season ends.

As always, don't waste your money.

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