Either I, and others in our community, needs to be educated on how gasoline at the pumps is priced or our local gas stations are price gouging. This morning, Aug. 3, the price for regular gas at the Texaco station on Hwy 45 just south of the road that takes you to the CAFB and the Chevron station at the corner of Kola Springs Road and Hwy 45 was $2.61 a gallon.
This afternoon, the price at these same two gas stations jumped 6 cents to $2.67. Why? For three months, the price for a barrel of oil has hovered between $75-$77.
On Monday, Aug. 2, the price rose to $78 a barrel. Tuesday, Aug. 3, the price rose to $82 a barrel. The barrels at this increased cost has not even shipped yet, and the price is for oil delivered in September, so why did our local gas stations raise their prices?
I have noticed that gas stations are quick to raise prices but slow to lower them when the cost of a barrel of oil drops and thus (possibly) adding to their profits. Additionally, the barrels that are priced at $82 a barrel has not yet been refined into gasoline, another reason for my question.
Why the 6-cent jump today? I have tracked oil prices on Yahoo Finance since early April and the price for a barrel of oil has fluctuated between $75-$77 with regular gasoline prices at these same two gas stations fluctuating from $2.56 in May to $2.61 for the last couple of weeks. Columbus Dispatch Editor, please help your readers come to grips with this issue.
Thank you.
Richard Schmidt, Columbus
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.