Travel
Gas prices staying stable ahead of Fourth of July weekend in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Americans to travel in record numbers for Fourth of July
STORY: Americans are expected to hit the road in record numbers for the July 4th holiday. Despite high fuel costs, the American Automobile Association predicts 71 million people will travel around the Independence Day festivities, with growth similar to a pre-pandemic trajectory. Some 60 million people will drive with nearly 6 million flying to their destinations, while around 4.6 million people
Milwaukee and Wisconsin Fourth of July travelers shouldn’t sweat too much at the gas pump this weekend, as prices are not expected to spike heavily for the holiday travel rush.
In fact, in Milwaukee, gas prices for the holiday should be about a nickel lower than a year ago, at about $3.37, according to Patrick De Haan, the gasoline analyst for GasBuddy, a gas price analysis website. That’s coming as demand is actually down for gas on average, despite what is expected to be a busy travel weekend.
On a national level, gas prices in the country for July 4 are expected to be at their lowest point since 2021, at $3.49 per gallon, according to GasBuddy.
“When we come to the gas price portion of it, Milwaukee prices are down a couple of cents in the last week,” De Haan told the Journal Sentinel in an interview on Wednesday.
July 3 gas prices around Wisconsin, travel expectations
On Wednesday, according to AAA, gas prices in Wisconsin were at $3.36 on average, below the national average of $3.51. Prices in Milwaukee were slightly higher at $3.39 per gallon on average, but that’s down about 16 cents from a month ago.
In other parts of the state, prices were comparable. Madison was sitting at $3.36 per gallon and Appleton was at $3.29 per gallon.
Meanwhile, De Haan said that diesel prices in Wisconsin are comparing very favorably to gasoline. In the Milwaukee area, he said that there were some examples of stations that had prices lower than gas.
Holiday travel analyses from GasBuddy and AAA show that its going to be a busy travel weekend.
AAA said it would be the busiest July 4th travel week ever, with about 70.9 million people expected to travel. The majority of those, 60.6 million, are expected to travel by vehicle. That’s a roughly 8.8% growth from 2019 travel, AAA said.
GasBuddy’s analysis showed that about 45% of American planned to travel on the road for the Fourth of July weekend. De Haan said that Wednesday afternoon and Sunday will be the busiest travel days on the road.
Despite the travel interest, De Haan said the statistics may not quite accurately paint the picture.
While the travel is bringing a slight demand increase, De Haan said that gasoline demand is actually down overall.
That’s in part due to consumers still being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and an interest in long-haul travel to destinations far away, which means traveling by plane, not car.
Gas outlook for the rest of the summer
Before the summer, De Haan and GasBuddy had expected gas prices to reach their highest points of the year in the summer. Some factors have shifted that analysis, he said.
De Haan warned of international conflict between Israel and Hezbollah and the upcoming hurricane season as potential impacts on gasoline prices, bringing them higher.
If Hurricane Beryl, the earliest category 5 hurricane to ever form in the Atlantic Ocean, or other hurricanes hit the gulf coast and refineries in Texas and Louisiana, prices could possibly spike.
De Haan said those spikes could be especially hard hitting, too, with prices possibly raising 25 cents to 50 cents in a “worst-case scenario.”
By Monday, De Haan said he expected prices to trickle up again.
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