Economy

Average gasoline prices in Milwaukee have risen 3.5 cents per gallon in the last week, or 1.2%, averaging $3.00 a gallon, according to GasBuddy's survey of 615 stations in Milwaukee. Prices in Milwaukee are 17.4 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and are 5.1 cents per gallon higher than a year ago.
According to GasBuddy’s latest price reports, the cheapest station in the Milwaukee area was priced at $2.77 a gallon while the most expensive was $3.19 a gallon, a difference of 42.0 cents per gallon. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $2.68 a gallon while the highest was $3.49 a gallon, a difference of 81.0 cents per gallon. The national average price of gasoline has risen 8.2 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.25/g today. The national average is unchanged from a month ago and stands 3.6 cents per gallon lower than a year ago, according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 11 million weekly price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country. The national average price of diesel has fallen 2.1 cents in the last week and stands at $4.64 per gallon. "Last week, the rise in gasoline prices continued, still due to previous refinery outages caused by the cold weather the week of Christmas. However, I'm optimistic that as refiners get back online, we could see the increases slow down as we head into the time of year when gasoline demand is at its weakest," said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. "While gasoline prices have rallied, average diesel prices continue to drift lower, which certainly bodes well for the overall economy. As long as refiners are able to get back online soon from previous cold-weather outages, we could see supply start to recover at the same time demand is weak, which could bring gas prices down again. The window of opportunity, however, is shrinking, and by late February or early March, we'll likely kick off the seasonal rise in gasoline prices."