STATEWIDE, (WOWO) — One thing Hurricane Helene did not affect was gas prices and fuel production. That is the conclusion of Patrick DeHaan, the head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy.

“It didn’t make much of an impact because it didn’t really take a path that would bother any refineries. The bigger story for Indiana is that the BP refinery in Whiting is now undergoing maintenance that will last another six weeks or so,” said DeHaan.

DeHaan says once that refinery comes back online completely, he predicts that prices will be below the $3 per gallon mark. There was also a power outage at a Citgo refinery outside of Chicago because of severe weather. That has since been fixed.

“Relief is coming. But for now, you shouldn’t be in any hurry to fill up. I expect prices to drop more in the week ahead,” said DeHaan.

DeHaan says price cycling is the bigger thing to watch in Indiana, which occurs every seven to 12 days. That’s where competition drives gas prices down until a station makes the move to jump back up again in order to not lose money. Then the rest of the stations will follow suit and the cycle will continue.

“The prices tend to never increase on weekends, but they can go up anytime Monday through Friday,” said DeHaan.

He did say that gas prices have been going up lately across the Midwest which has made life difficult for motorists in Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, and Michigan.