Up here it is today. I think some price gouging is going on. Yesterday gas was 3.39-3.49 today it is 3.99-4.10. Diesel is 3.89-3.99. Reports on the radio Charleston's gas is $5 in some places.

So what kind prices did everyone have yesterday and today?

It does not look good.

I passed the station at the beginning of the week and saw 3.43. Cool I though, as I need to get gas. This was after prices in the high 60s or more. So I filled up the next morning on the way to work.

Then on the way home I go by the same station- $3.699! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/angry.gif" alt="" /> WTF!!!???

I get so damned pi$$ed. And last year Mobil posted the highest profit ever- on history, for any company.

The easy answer is to buy oils stocks and make money there, thus recouping some costs. But that is not so easy for an every day, hard working, not enough $ left over stiff like me. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/baby.gif" alt="" />

I just filled up 2 cars and felt like a fool - $4.89 for hi-test and $4.69 for regular. What's worse is everybody is just as foolish and the stations here are beginning to run out of gas.

It took me an hour to pump 14 gallons of regular into my wife's car - I assume because the tanks are getting low and the crud in the bottom of the tank is clogging the station's pump filters.

Yes, it's gouging..... but if you need it, you can't risk that the refineries will be closed for a while and there may be NO gas at all.

The news stations are hyping the potential of $10-12/gallon gas. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/scared.gif" alt="" />

Frank

I thought price gouging during a declared disaster is illegal?

It is, but I suppose when everybody's doing it and the news is hyping it, there's a measure of cover.

There was one thing I saw that made me wonder - a station I passed had bags over all of the pump handles, looking like they were out if gas. This station usually has the highest prices around, so I don't see how they could have run out so early. I'll bet they're gambling that the price will be higher tomorrow and they can sell for much more if they hold off for a day and catch the weekend crowd that didn't get the evening news. If they get caught, they'll probably say the pumps were malfunctioning today.

Frank

it's not gouging if there's no supply coming in due to refineries being shut down for weather. NOT that that is the case - there's about a 30 day buffer built in, IIRC. But stations seem to be running dry for some reason..

AKA... it's 1973 again.

Just about all the stations in Athens are either out of gas or only selling 10 gallons at a time. It's anywhere from 3.99 to 4.69 in town. Our other store called and said gas was 4.99 yesterday afternoon. Kinda sucks when delivery of parts is your livelihood. I sent all the trucks to get gas yesterday morning. The first one, gas was 3.72. The second, at the same station, was 3.89. The third, same station again, was 3.99. Absolutely ignorant, if you ask me. The gas in the tanks in the ground didn't cost the station any more yesterday than it did the day before. Today's another story, however <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />

Yesterday, I was completely unaware that any of this was taking place until Kathy came home for lunch and asked me if I had heard anything about the gas prices... She said that it was practically the only thing anyone was talking about at work, with rumors of $5 and $6 prices locally, and that several people were even being let off early to go get in line for gas.


Later, on my way to work, I stopped by a local convenience store, where I know all of the employees, and asked for the 411... Here's what I learned:

Yesterday morning, they & their competition (two stations located just across the state line, in Virginia) were both selling regular gas at $3.69 a gallon. --- About 10am, station #1 got a call from Company HQ to up their price to $3.99, and #2 followed suit within an hour. --- Then, after long lines had formed at both stations (clogging traffic in all directions), station #2 raised their price to $4.29... and within minutes, station #1 got another call from Company HQ to match that price.

As if the situation wasn't bad enough, in-and-of-itself -- I really feel sorry for the folks who were next in line at the pumps when those prices went up again.


And yet crude oil dropped as low as $99.99 yesterday, and closed at $101 a barrel.


Nahhhhh... they're not gouging <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />

<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/angry.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/angry.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/angry.gif" alt="" />

Today I spent $40 for 3.85 a gallon, though not at my normal station. They posted $3.99 a gallon, to where if you have enough points built up you can get up to $.50 off a gallon. They bagged all of there pumps for some reason, when every station here in town is up and running just fine. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/evil.gif" alt="" />

One would have to ponder the situation??????. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/barf.gif" alt="" />

Just filled the Land Cruiser for $80 and was happy it was down to $3.85 <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />