Gas Prices and the Disparity

Image from Jagular




In the last couple of weeks I have heard how gas prices were going down. The latest was this last Friday (8/31/07) when the news reported despite the Labor Day Weekend, gas prices were on the way down again. They even reported a station at $2.50 a gallon.
Since I was north bound on the Kansas Avenue bridge here in Topeka and the cheapest places in Topeka being on North Topeka blvd. I decided to swing by and check out the prices. What were they selling gs for? Well they had raised the prices that very day, and now gas was $2.93, still a bargain compared to the $2.99 at the BP next door to where I work further north on Topeka Blvd, but certainly not a decrease, as the news was reporting.

At this point, I decided that it was time that maybe I write about this and try to find out why the difference. However, it was put on the back burner, until today, when I seen another blogger post a picture of gas prices in his area, being $2.59 for unleaded and $2.79 for the high grade. Another person commented that gas was $2.48 in Dallas. Since Kansas is typically among the cheapest gas prices in Kansas, I knew I had to write the post.

So without further hesitation, I mad the phone call to the principle oil distributer in the area and was given to the owners voice mail. I left a message for him and am now awaiting his reply.

In the meantime I began reading news articles online, reporting that the September surprise is that gas prices are rising post holiday. Still though, there are places reporting, gas prices going down. For example, Boston is reporting gas prices down for the 7th straight week. According to that article gas last week was down 1 cent from the previous week.

Eventually, Marvin Spees, returned my call as I was going out the door to work. Still, I wanted to know, why gas prices here were going up at the very times the national news on the radio and TV were reporting that they were going down. He said that there were a number of factors in the Midwest. One of those factors that he blamed the flooding a number of weeks back weeks back in Coffeyville that forced a refinery there to temporarily close. Problem, I have with that argument, is that it has been reopened again for two or three weeks. In addition, he said that another refinery (in Oklahoma) was struck by lightening. Again this event happened even further back, but he was blaming it as a factor in rising gas prices.

Finally, Mr. Spees concluded our conversation, by saying that it was likely to get "worse, before it gets better." So there you have it, according the owner of Capital City Oil, here in Topeka, KS.
I don't know about you, but I can't afford for gas prices to get worse. I am barely scrapping by now, and for gas prices to go higher, only makes my finances worse.