nation. higher even than honolulu which tend to be one of the highest. chicago right now $4.26 on average for the gallon. ann arbor michigan, then santa barbara, california, then detroit. it points out how important it is for the refining capacity to be up online. one of them like the one behind me had a fire and it reduced their capacity and prices go up. look out california, it s coming to you next. sorry. shannon: you are only the bearer of the bad news. thank you very much. a new investigation maybe revealing the relationship between the white house and its union friend. we are going to talk with the reporter behind this about why he s pointing the finger straight at the treasury secretary for cutting benefits to thousands of non-union retirees and where that money eventually wound.
fossil fuel industry when he s part of the problem. alisyn: obviously the states are taking the matters into their own hands. let s look where gas prices are. we belly ache about it in new york. but in hawaii it s the highest. $4.59. alaska $4.36. the farther you get out of the continental u.s., california, $4.32. illinois, $4.26. in illinois, they passed a law that they have their own specific blend for gasoline. there is on two refineries in the country that can make it. if one of those go down their prices in chicago go up 30 cents. that s the political aspect of it. and may 1 when we go to the summer blend there is only one refinery that can make gasoline for chicago.
they re ready to step in if iran should make good on this threat. abc s cecelia vega explains what exactly is at stake. reporter: any attempt by iranians to shut down the strategic strait of hormuz could send oil and gas prices skyrocketing in this country. an astounding 20% of the world s oil travels through that vital waterway, just 20 miles wide and right in iran s backyard. their navy chief said on iranian tv closing the strait of hormuz will be easier than drinking a glass of water. if they follow through on the threat, experts predict higher prices at the pump. depending on how long this goes on, and how much is damaged, how much is really going to be affected, by summertime, we could be looking at upwards of $5. reporter: that could have a profound effect on this nation s already fragile economy. economists say if prices rose from today s $3.26 a gallon
endeavouv up this coming up monday. shepard: nearly $4 a gallon across the nation for regular unleaded. aaa reports that s the national average. $3.96, i believe. analysts say the drop could happen, as much as 75 cents in time for the summer, because crude prices have already dropped. a lot of this is supply and demand, let me tell you, but some of it is about speculators hoarding, in big houses, hoarding a lot of stock. ashley webster from the business network at a gas station in new york. why does it take so long for gas prices to fall after oil does? shep, this is a gas station in midtown manhattan. when we arrived this morning it was $4.26 for a gallon of gas.
now from yonkers, new york. new york is now one of the most expensive states to get gas. reporter: one of the six states across the country that are seeing more than $4 a gallon. we take a look at san francisco, they re seeing $4.25, chicago, $4.26. right here in yonkers, it s $4.19 for regular. what s happening, i ll walk back here really quickly, people are spending less when they come to the gas station. only $5 this last fill-up, it was a mercedes. they re spending less. what they re hearing is they re coming in every other day to spend $5, $10, instead of coming in every week or two when they hit the bottom of their tank. that s the real situation for a lot of folks when they come to this gas station. but it s not uncommon. this means that people are also spending less. the harrison interactive poll showing six in ten people now cutting back on their expenditures just because, thomas, of these higher gas prices. and what are gas managers like the one you re seeing there