Gas prices level off; plateau expected to last until Christmas

Bill Novak  —  12/01/2008 9:49 am

Have we reached bottom as far as gasoline prices go? Not yet, according to AAA Wisconsin.

Gas prices seem to have stabilized and in fact rose slightly in some areas over the weekend, but this "plateau" was expected for the Thanksgiving-to-Christmas period, said AAA spokesman Larry Kamholz.

"After Christmas, we still project a decline in gas prices," Kamholz said. "We'll see what happens, but the trend should continue."

The AAA daily fuel gauge report shows the average price for regular unleaded gasoline in Wisconsin on Monday fell to $1.793 a gallon, down four-tenths of a cent from Sunday.

The Madison average went up a tenth of a penny from $1.802 a gallon on Sunday to $1.803 a gallon on Monday, while La Crosse drivers are paying the same $1.859 a gallon Monday as they did on Sunday.

Milwaukee has the lowest average price for regular unleaded at $1.754 a gallon, down three-tenths of a cent, while Janesville was at $1.774 a gallon, down 1.4 cents, Green Bay was at $1.779 a gallon, down a half-cent and Eau Claire was at $1.896 a gallon, down two cents.

The lowest prices in Madison were $1.77 a gallon all over town, while the highest prices were $1.89 a gallon at two stations, according to madisongasprices.com.

Nationally, the average price for regular unleaded dropped a half-cent to $1.82 a gallon on Monday.

Only three states plus the District of Columbia still have regular unleaded selling for an average above $2 a gallon, with Alaska at $2.759 a gallon, Hawaii at $2.70, New York at $2.188 and D.C. at $2.064.

The lowest statewide average is in Missouri at $1.558 a gallon, with drivers in Kansas City paying the least for regular unleaded in the country at $1.431 a gallon.

Bill Novak  —  12/01/2008 9:49 am