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Premium gas hits $4 a gallon in Wisconsin

Bill Novak  —  5/09/2008 12:19 pm

It was inevitable, but it's still hard to take.

For the first time ever, gas hit the $4 mark in Wisconsin -- for premium unleaded.

"It's a sad day," said AAA Wisconsin public affairs director Pam Moen. "This is the first time the daily fuel gauge report in Wisconsin has the first digit as a '4.' "

The $4.03 per gallon average price in Wisconsin is for premium unleaded gasoline. Regular unleaded gasoline in Wisconsin is now at $3.71 a gallon, and mid-range gas is at $3.85 a gallon, while diesel fuel tops all at $4.26 a gallon.

In Madison, premium is at an average $4.01 a gallon, with regular unleaded at $3.69 and mid-range gas at $3.83.

A year ago, according to AAA Wisconsin, the average price for all three grades of gasoline was 60 cents a gallon lower than today. Diesel was $1.30 a gallon lower a year ago.

The Milwaukee metro area has the highest gas prices in the state, with the current price for regular at $3.80 a gallon, mid-range at $3.95 a gallon and premium at $4.13 a gallon. Diesel is now $4.26 a gallon in Milwaukee.

Crude oil prices hit an all-time high Friday, breaking the $126-a-barrel mark.

"AAA has been saying there will be a new national average for regular unleaded of $3.75 a gallon before Memorial Day," Moen said.

The national average today is $3.67 a gallon for regular unleaded, and Memorial Day is still 17 days away.

AAA said gas prices will affect travel Memorial Day weekend and into the summer.

Ironically, gasoline supplies are strong right now and demand is down, which normally would cause prices to decline.

"It's just the opposite," Moen said. "Last year at this time, refineries were really struggling to keep up with demand, which caused prices to climb, but supplies are good today, so it has nothing to do with the prices. Crude oil is driving this."

Is there any silver lining in the gas price crisis?

"It takes a crisis like this to force consumers and the nation to get serious about energy conservation," Moen said. "When gas is cheap, people aren't as motivated to save on their consumption of it."

Bill Novak  —  5/09/2008 12:19 pm