|
Gas price reaches $2
Tim Knuchell of Blaze Signs does repair work on the sign at the Chevron station at Vilas Road and Highway 62, where premium gas prices topped $2 a gallon this week. Regular grades also rise to $1.71-$1.81 From local and wire reports Rogue Valley gas prices for premium unleaded have broken the dreaded $2-a-gallon barrier at several stations with discount regular grades in the $1.71-$1.75 range. The rise moves local prices into somewhat uncharted territory. "I really don’t remember it going over $2," says Mike Hawkins of Hawk Oil, who’s been in the business 24 years. Hawk Oil supplies gas to local Exxon and Gas 4 Less stations. Prices around the state are on rise. "They are definitely shooting up," says Mike Sherlock of the Oregon Gasoline Dealers Association. Sherlock says prices have jumped at the wholesale level and that stations are simply passing along the higher costs. The increases aren’t limited to gasoline. "Diesel’s gone up faster than gas," says Hawkins. Diesel prices for commercial trucking accounts were around $1.70 a gallon, while general consumer prices were around $1.92. The latest hikes follow a Labor Day survey reporting Oregon’s gas prices as the highest in the continental U.S. But Sherlock questions the notion that Oregon has the highest prices. He says he drove to Southern California recently and paid more than $2 for premium gas up and down that state. Prices are clearly much higher just across the state line. In Yreka, prices for regular gasoline have already crossed the $2 mark at most stations. The average cost of regular gas in Oregon heading into the Labor Day weekend was $1.76, according to AAA’s annual survey. That’s an increase of about 15 cents over last year at this time. Hawaii pays $1.92 per gallon for regular gas. At the Shell station on Fort Jones Road in Yreka, regular unleaded was going for $2.15, premium for $2.35 and diesel for $2.27 a gallon. The USA station on North Main Street, typically the city’s cheapest spot, was charging $1.97 for regular and $2.17 for premium and an employee said prices would likely be higher starting this morning. Around the Rogue Valley, most stations were charging $1.70 to $1.81 for regular and $1.91 to $2 for premium. As usual, theories abound about what is driving the increases. "I haven’t seen a real clear explanation for it," says Hawkins, adding that he has heard that West Coast refineries are again having trouble. Sherlock says the rise may be tied to demand for heating oil as the winter months approach. Refineries have to retool their plants to process heating oil instead of gasoline. High prices for both natural gas and heating oil have been forecast by analysts and refineries may be trying to stock up in anticipation of the demand. Crude oil prices also have been higher in recent months. Despite the price increases, there was still no discernible change in Oregonians’ vacation habits, particularly during the last three-day weekend of the summer. "When there’s a short holiday weekend, people take whatever the price is and go where they want to go," says Anne O’Ryan, media director for the Oregon-Idaho office of AAA. That trend holds across the nation. AAA estimated 28.3 million people planned to drive 100 miles or more from home over last weekend. That’s an increase of close to 6 percent over last year, when prices were about 20 cents a gallon lower. "People have just gotten used to it," said Stephanie Lapsley, director of sales and marketing for the Westin Salishan resort in Gleneden Beach. "People just want to get out and enjoy the nice summer weather, and the 20 cents doesn’t bother them." In a car that gets 30 miles per gallon, gas for the approximately 160-mile round trip to the Oregon coast from Portland, for example, cost only about a dollar more this Labor Day than last year. |
