Gas prices jump to $2.50/gallon at many stations in Branch County, southwest Michigan

COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – Once again gas prices have spiked in Branch County and across most of the area and a gallon of self-serve regular will cost most drivers about $2.50 cents at the pump today. So what happened this time to cause the increase of between 35 and 40 cents a gallon on Wednesday?  Gas Buddy-dot-com’s oil analyst Patrick Dehaan says it was the usual combination of higher crude prices and flakey refinery maintenance, and this time, add the Federal Reserve’s decision not to raise interest rates. He says we will see $2 gasoline again, we will just have to wait for the holidays. It is once again a regional issue.  Most of the rest of the country is enjoying gas prices that are considerably lower than we are.