Issue – Gas prices: Can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without ‘em

Unrest in Nigeria, Iran trigger local prices’ fluctuation

SWEETSER – Debbie Purvis has been seeing more of her friends lately. They come not only for conversation and a friendly face, but also for gas that’s a few cents cheaper per gallon.

“I have some friends in Marion; they know I work here, and they know it’s cheaper,” said Purvis, daytime employee at S&J Citgo store in Sweetser. “If they’re going to fill up, they come here.”

Last summer, Hurricane Katrina damaged Gulf Coast refineries and pipelines that play a key role in bringing fuel to the Midwest, and prices at local gas stations surged past $3.

More than six months later, prices still are not back to what they were before the hurricane. Consumers across the nation paid an average of $2.36 a gallon for gas last week, a more than 30-cent-per-gallon increase from this time in 2005, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Chronicle-Tribune (Indiana)