Drivers looking for fuel near me found a jolt at the pump on Wednesday night, with some area stations charging as much as $4.99 a gallon for regular unleaded gas. Prices in Mishawaka were at $4.99 a gallon, including the Exxon at Douglas and SR 23, while the Speedway on South Bend Avenue was also at $4.99 when the report was made.
The highest prices came as oil prices remained elevated, rising 5.8% on Wednesday, according to the. That helped keep pump costs high across the area, where many locations were hovering around $4.79 a gallon and the cheapest price found was $4.09 at a few stations on South Bend's far northwest side.
The spread was wide enough to make the search for a lower price feel like a local scavenger hunt. GasBuddy.com was cited as the source for the station prices, and social media posts from drivers showed a range from $3.59 to $4.99 a gallon, underscoring how uneven the market had become from one neighborhood to the next.
For drivers, the immediate reality is simple: the next fill-up could cost far more depending on where they stop, and the difference between the cheapest and most expensive gas in the area is already more than 90 cents a gallon. Until crude prices cool, the pump price gap that showed up Wednesday night is likely to keep hitting local budgets in very different ways.