Michigan gas prices up 11 cents a gallon, boosted by robust Memorial Day weekend travel

Gas prices are now $3.66 a gallon for regular unleaded gasoline, 11 cents more than a week ago, AAA, which tracks sales at gas stations nationwide, AAA Michigan said. That’s $54 for a full, 15-gallon tank, 4 cents more than last year. The national average was $3.59 a gallon.

“Memorial Day travelers in Michigan saw higher gas prices over the holiday weekend,” Adrienne Woodland, a spokeswoman for the auto club, said Tuesday. “If demand drops alongside falling crude oil prices, pump prices will likely follow suit.”

West Texas Intermediate, an oil benchmark representing U.S.-produced oil, declined by $1.09 to settle at $77.57 a barrel, AAA said. Oil prices fell, the auto club said, as crude oil inventories increased by 1.8 million barrels from the previous week.

Last week, the White House announced it is releasing 1 million barrels of gasoline from a Northeast reserve established to lower prices at the pump this summer. The sale, from sites in New Jersey and Maine, will be allocated in increments of 100,000 barrels at a time.