GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Gas prices are up by about 20-cents over last month across much of Wisconsin, and they’re not likely to fall back under three bucks per gallon any time soon.
The gas price surge has the statewide average now at $3.23 a gallon. But there are a few factors playing into what’s causing the continued rise in price. One of those factors, the situation between Russia and Ukraine.
Russia is the second-largest global producer of oil.
“The concern is that Russia could use oil as a weapon. Should the U.S. issue sanctions, Russia could respond by withholding oil production,” said GasBuddy Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick De Haan. “However, starting in February and lasting to really Memorial Day, we start to see seasonal trends that could push prices up by another 25 [cents] to as much as 75-cents a gallon.”
Those seasonal trends are typically credited to more people traveling and refineries carrying out yearly maintenance at that time.
“A lot of the reason why we’re seeing such drastic price swings compared to a year ago is that the overall state of the pandemic has greatly improved and Americans are getting out, and broadly speaking, much of the economy now is fully reopened,” De Haan said.
Those stacked problems will compound the reasons for prices to soar, and De Haan isn’t feeling too optimistic about what we’ll see at the pumps in coming months.
“Not a whole lot of great news. Not a whole lot of light at the end of the tunnel. I would expect that price increases will pick up steam in March and that will last through April and May, and we could be, by Memorial Day, close to $4 a gallon,” De Haan told WTAQ News. “I really don’t see the next time prices will go down in an organized notable fashion until later this year…Not expecting much of a break at all. In fact, this summer will probably easily be the most expensive since 2014.”
The rising prices will also likely incentivize more oil production, but it could take several months for that oil to actually hit the market.
While the trends seem to be going in the wrong direction for consumers, De Haan does believe there are a few things that could alleviate some of that cost.
“There is some light at the end of the tunnel the president has been talking over the possibility of making a new nuclear deal with Iran that could potentially bring more oil to the market at a time it’s desperately needed. So there may be a little bit of relief,” De Haan said.
Improvements in the Russia situation could also create further relief, but De Haan says nobody really knows what will happen on that front. As for what people can do at home to protect their wallets from the pain at the pump, De Haan has a few suggestions.
“People are stressed out, they’re busy running place to place. Slowing it down a little bit can certainly increase your fuel efficiency…It doesn’t sound like much savings, but doing it myself, I was able to increase my miles per tank from 300 to 400. It was a little bit aggravating, but that went a long way,” De Haan said. “Shop around before you fill up. so many times in the last 4 months as prices have gone up, people have filled up only to find cheaper gas just a couple miles down the road.”
A gallon in Green Bay right now costs about $3.19 on average, down two cents from last week, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 127 stations. Appleton is also down about 1.5 cents from last week to $3.10.
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