GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Five dollars for one gallon of gasoline seems to be an inevitable future for drivers here in Northeast Wisconsin, as many other states and corners of our own have already seen that tag on the pumps.
But just when is it going to hit?
Wisconsin’s statewide average is currently floating in the $4.94 per gallon range. GasBuddy Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick De Haan says that could cross the $5 mark this week.
“A little bit a glimmer of hope wholesale prices are actually down a bit today that may push the $5 [per] gallon average in Wisconsin down the road a few days perhaps?” De Haan said.
The Energy Information Administration is releasing information on Wednesday regarding gasoline inventory, which could also have a big impact on the direction of prices.
Meanwhile, wholesale prices are down about fifteen cents from the start of the week, that doesn’t make up for the vast disparity between supply and demand.
“We’ve never seen gasoline inventories going into the summer this low before. So that’s pushed up the wholesale price on gasoline considerably,” De Haan told WTAQ News. “We’ve also lost about a million barrels a day in refining capacity over the last 3 years or so. That’s kept things very tight in terms of gasoline supply, and demand is very high as we go to the summer…It’s not a great situation here. Demand is probably not going to fall, and supply is probably not going to improve. That’s going to keep prices up for some time.”
A significant factor in the lack of supply continues to be the sanctions on Russia, which produces 10 million barrels of oil every day.
“There’s not a great resolution here. We can’t build a refinery overnight, the president can’t have oil companies – or oil companies can’t raise production to offset Russia overnight,” De Haan said. “There’s just no way. Even under the most ideal situation, we’re just not going to be able to offset that Russian oil.”
In the meantime, consumers are getting increasingly upset over the prices and continue to seek somewhere to place blame. That’s where De Haan is also getting frustrated.
“Doing this so often, it becomes really frustrating when politicians like to rile up their their voters and they like to misinform their voters…Politicians on both sides of the aisle have basically misled people into believing who was responsible for this and what can be done about it,” De Haan said. “You have Democrats calling on oil companies that have been price gouging. That’s not the case. You have Republicans saying that this is completely Joe Biden’s fault, and that’s not quite the case. The answer is somewhere in between.”
De Haan says much of the reason gas prices have seen the surge is related to circumstances not related to the president, but to worldwide current events.
“We are here not simply because of the U. S. president this is a global phenomenon not just limited to U. S. oil prices,” De Haan said.
However, he says it doesn’t help that President Biden has been trying to crack down on the fossil fuel sector – and argues that immediately issuing executive orders to do so may have been the wrong decision.
His recommendation to people who want to make their impact on gas prices is to simply plan ahead.
“Americans can control their driving habits. You can leave a little early and drive a little bit more fuel efficiently. Gas prices could drop by $0.50 a gallon if we could do that and reduce our consumption,” De Haan said.
To find prices at gas stations near you, head to GasBuddy.com.
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