A hurricane in the Gulf, a conflict in the country of Georgia, consumption up, down, up—-we’re not seeing a lot of stability at the gas pump.
It’s not unusual to see wide spreads in gas prices from day day to day, town to town, region to region. Spokesman Mike Right with the Auto Club of Missouri says it’s a matter of timing of fuel deliveries and how much gas stations have to pay for the fuel and how much the supplier has to pay.
Right says instability makes it hard to look ahead.. He calls predicting crude oil and gasoline prices "one of the most hazardous occupations there is." and says it’s likely to be that way into the foreseeable future. .
Right says there is competition although gas prices within a town often seem to go up at the same time and down at the same time, In fact, Right says he sometimes sees prices varying by as much as a dime a gallon during his short drive to work each day in St. Louis.
He says the crude oil markets are jittery and filled with anxiety and are likely to stay that way into the future.
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