Wisconsin gas prices decrease as fall arrives, but why is that?

Ever notice around the month of September, gas prices become little cheaper?

There’s reasons for that.

As the weather gets cooler, less people are going on road trips, and not as many will be putting their boats in the lake. On top of that, school is back in session, so the roads won’t be as busy during a school day. Therefore, the demand for gas is less, according to Patrick Dehaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.

“What happens is that over the course of the summer, with demand being relatively weak, supply in pure gasoline built up to pretty adequate levels. There was plenty of supply,” Dehaan told the Green Bay Press-Gazette Wednesday. “And now that we’re out of summer, there’s even more supply in the market. A lot of what we’re seeing is seasonal and that demand was weak, and supply was, as a result, plentiful.”

The current average cost of fuel is at $2.97 in the state of Wisconsin, according to the American Automobile Association.

Appleton sits $2.91 currently, with Green Bay being just a little more expensive at $3.00. In Milwaukee it’s even cheaper, at $2.88.

Despite this trend, the gas prices can always be subject to change depending on events that can affect gas lines. For example, Wisconsin saw a gas spike back in 2022 due to a fire at a Ohio refinery, as well as Hurricane Ian causing disruptions to oil production in the Gulf of Mexico and impacting large coastal refineries.

More: Why Wisconsin gas prices spiked in the last week, and what to expect this autumn

According to Dehaan, the gas prices can be consistently low from now until around February, as once it gets warmer, more activity will result in more demand for fuel.

“There’s solid opportunity for gas prices to consistently be below $3 a gallon between now and February, and then next spring is the next time that we’ll see a very organized up upswing,” he said. “Gasoline is very seasonal. Just in the spring, we spring up, and in the fall, we fall.”

Rashad Alexander can be contacted at ralexander@gannett.com and 920-431-8214.