Gas prices soaring, no end in sight

Sunday, April 30, 2006
Gasoline prices have been on the rise lately, in a national trend neither analysts nor local station owners believe will reverse any time soon. In Fort Scott, prices were a few cents higher on Friday than at this Nevada gas station.

Herald -Tribune

Fort Scott, Kan. -- Supplies of gasoline in the Fort Scott area remain consistent, even as gas prices continue to rise, with no apparent relief in sight anytime soon, some area store managers said.

As of press time, prices at the pump in most Fort Scott convenience stores stood at $2.89 per gallon of regular grade unleaded gasoline, with some store personnel saying that prices of this type of gasoline could hit the $3 per gallon mark around the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

"It will probably go up around the holiday weekend -- that's a big travel time," Jump Start store manager Theresa England said. "That's when it'll go up high if it's going to."

The price at some gas stations in Fort Scott for premium unleaded gasoline, as of press time, was $2.99, and diesel fuel had already risen to $3.09 per gallon.

Jump Start, 603 South National Avenue, Fort Scott, is part of the Pump 'N Pete's franchise, which also operates other stores in Bourbon County and 29 stores nationwide, England said. The franchise's main office is in Parsons, Kan., she said.

Hill's Service Station owner and operator Tom Hill attributed rising gas prices to recent political fallout and activity in the nation's capital concerning domestic oil production.

"It will probably go to $3 by Memorial Day," Hill said. "There's a lot of scuttlebutt in (Washington) D.C. right now. What gripes me is that the price will go up 10 or 20 cents, then go down 10 or 20 cents the next day -- they (prices) change nearly every night," he said. "Wall Street is buying and selling so fast."

England and Hill both said they have not encountered any gasoline shortages yet this year, which could possibly become a problem across the nation this summer, an Associated Press story said.

Earlier this week, President Bush announced that the federal government would not take 10 million barrels of oil out of the market for the U.S. emergency reserve as had been planned, the AP story said.

In response to some critics who said Bush has been ignoring prices at the pump, he responded by attributing high gas prices to the state of the global economy.

"It's hurting our economy," Hill said. "Sales are dropping 30 to 40 percent -- we used to carry one- to two-percent profits, it makes a difference. We need to make those margins back up."

"The price of oil by the barrel is higher than it's ever been in my lifetime, which makes gas (prices) higher," Brad Cowen, the manager of Cowen's Country Corner, 998 N. National Ave., Fort Scott, said. "It was $20 a barrel two years ago. I think they're (oil companies) manipulating it (gas prices) somehow," Cowen said.

Bush also vowed to pursue any collusion or price gouging and directed the Justice Department to help states pursue allegations of manipulated gasoline prices. Oil companies are showing record profits this year, as crude oil prices have risen to more than $70 per barrel. The nation's three largest oil companies are expected to show more than $16 billion in profits, a recent report said.

Hill also said, along with high gas prices, many major credit cardholders are being charged extra fees to buy their gasoline, which is contributing to the amount of disgruntled motorists in the area and across the country.

Sinclair Oil, a nationwide petroleum company where Hill said he buys his gasoline, is doing away with its high sulfur-based diesel fuel, and will soon only sell low-sulfur products, which will also have an impact on the fuel business and the economy, Hill said.

Sinclair Oil also provides Hill with the product he uses at all three of his stores in Bourbon County, he said. Unlike England, Hill determines his own gasoline prices, but still takes a hit when prices for the gasoline he buys goes up.

The Environmental Protection Agency has said it will consider environmental waivers on a case-by-case basis if gasoline supply problems or price spikes become apparent as a result of shortages of cleaner-burning summer-blend gasoline in a specific area, the AP story said.

States with supply problems could request the waivers, the story said.

When gas prices begin to rise to unexpected amounts, customer complaints typically begin to flood in, even though store personnel have absolutely no control over what the prices at the pumps will be, England said.

"I hear those every day, 'When are you going to lower the prices?'" she said. "I just get a call and do what I'm told," she said about changing prices. England said she feels the same pinch her customers feel, as she drives to work from Pittsburg each day.

"The prices have nothing to do with the owner, they raise according to what we're being told. I don't think there's any price gouging going on," England said in response to whether or not gas prices are being unfairly manipulated.

Last week, prices for regular grade gasoline averaged $2.94 per gallon nationwide, a 23-cent increase in two weeks and 68 cents higher than a year ago, and prices in many areas such as the West Coast and mid-Atlantic states are already exceeding $3 per gallon, the AP story said.

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