Ohio gas jumps 34 cents in a week as Midwest prices spike

Bloomberg reported Thursday that the shutdown of a key unit at ExxonMobil's refinery in Joliet, Illinois, had pushed prices higher in Michigan and Ohio, with the effects spreading to Wisconsin, Indiana and Illinois. GasBuddy figures cited by Bloomberg showed Ohio jumping from $4.05 on Wednesday to $4.34 on Thursday.

GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan had predicted the move. He told the Dayton Daily News on Oct. 20 that Ohio would probably see another price-cycling jump by Oct. 22 after a problem at an Exxon Mobil refinery near Chicago led to a flaring event.

De Haan described price cycling as a pattern in which stations gradually undercutting each other a few cents at a time until margins run out, then raising prices sharply, with neighboring stations following. He said cycles typically run one to two weeks but can be triggered by sudden cost increases like a refinery problem.

The spike comes on top of high prices nationwide. AAA said Thursday that crude oil was nearing $100 a barrel amid tension around the Strait of Hormuz and that October is poised to be the most expensive October on record for gas. al.com/MLive reported that crude hit its highest level since April on Friday.

What the evidence shows: Ohio suspended its 38.5-cent-a-gallon gas tax starting Oct. 4 and is covering the cost with $725 million in reserve funds, the Detroit Free Press reported. AAA's figures show Ohio's average is now $4.42, essentially the same as the $4.43 it showed a month ago, before the holiday began. De Haan told the Dayton Daily News the tax holiday is likely still holding Ohio's prices down, but seasonal and market factors are pushing them back up.

Prices remain below records. Ohio's highest AAA average was $5.06 in June 2022, and Michigan's was $5.22 that same month. A year ago, Ohio drivers were paying $3.01 a gallon.

What's still unknown: The reports reviewed here do not say when the idled Joliet unit will return to service, or how quickly a downward cycle will follow once it does.

Prices are AAA's daily state averages for regular gas as posted Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026; GasBuddy's real-time figures cited by Bloomberg run slightly different. The sources reviewed here do not say when the idled Joliet refinery unit will restart. The photos are file photos: the refinery image is from 2023 and the price sign is from Minneapolis in 2022.