STATEWIDE (WOWO) – Gas prices have dropped for seven straight weeks.

Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, said gas stations are having a seasonal drop in price because they have switched over to a cheaper blend of winter gasoline. Demand also drops when the temperatures drop.

“Indianapolis is now at $2.99 per gallon on average, but the rest of the state is around a similar price,” said DeHaan.

DeHaan said the BP oil refinery in Whiting, Indiana is going to start having maintenance done to it this week and that is expected to last over a month.

“That could have a slight negative impact on prices because it’s the largest refinery in the Midwest, but that impact is likely to be low-level,” said DeHaan.

With the Presidential Election coming up in November, DeHaan also wanted to remind you that politicians do not dictate gas prices.

“Gas prices are much more powerful than one politician in the U.S. Economics is too. While a politician may convince you that they can lasso the global price of a commodity, it’s far more nuanced than that,” said DeHaan.

Gas stations also go through a process called price cycling. That’s where competition drives gas prices down until a station makes the move to jump back up again in order to not lose money. Then the rest of the stations will follow suit and the cycle will continue.

“We could see Indiana’s prices cycle later this week, so if it was me, I’d probably hedge my bets and fill up Tuesday or Wednesday, in the hopes that prices won’t go up before that,” said DeHaan.

GasBuddy has Indiana’s gas average at $3.07 per gallon as of Monday morning. That’s down 17 cents from the previous Monday.