GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – As Safer at Home precautions remain in place, gas prices are continuing to bottom out across the country – the lowest prices are hitting here in Wisconsin.
“Wisconsin is leading the nation with the lowest statewide average at $1.20 per gallon. And in Green Bay, at their lowest level we have on record,” says Gasbuddy.com Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick DeHaan, “By all metrics, we’re well beyond where I thought we would be in this situation. I think it’s just that fear is gripping the market.”
While an average of $1.20 across the state is a bargain and reality here in Wisconsin – it doesn’t appear prices can fall much further.
“I really don’t think we’ll get a whole lot lower than where we are on the low side now,” DeHaan tells WTAQ News, “Taxes on the gasoline stand at somewhere around 51 cents. Federal gas tax is 19 cents. Then you have Wisconsin taxes.”
Covering those taxes and having to keep up with the current market doesn’t give gas stations much room to move.
“In light of the fact that demand is 50-70% lower, some of these stations that are priced under a dollar may have a very harsh reality of how they may stay in business,” DeHaan says, “For these stations that are selling for under a dollar per gallon, the margin of what they make on gasoline is very little.”
The current issue for many gasoline and oil providers is simply the drop from typical demand across the state and country. Prices of crude oil are hitting historic lows.
“We’re finding ourselves not in need of really any gasoline. With most Americans sheltering in place – and as a result, prices are falling to unprecedented lows and multi-year lows,” DeHaan says, “We’re still consuming about 200 million gallons of gasoline a day, but really there’s so much oil being produced still that we’re running out of places to put it.”
Right now, prices across Green Bay range from about $1.15 per gallon down to just 94-cents. It’s recommended to check prices around your area – and any areas you may have to go.
