Gas Prices Surge 30 Cents In One Day

Anxious drivers swarmed Terre Haute gas stations Monday to try to fill their vehicles before fuel prices shattered the $2 mark.A sudden surge in prices at some stations had motorists hurrying to beat the price change at the less expensive pumps.

At Thornton’s at Third and Voorhees streets, cars were lined up at the pump just before 2 p.m., when the station’s price jumped from $1.81 to $2.14 for regular unleaded fuel — an increase of 31 cents. Many other stations followed with increases.

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Meanwhile, farther south, Thornton’s at 3333 S. Third Street and Kroger at 4714 S. U.S. 41 remained steady at $1.81 nearly two hours later. Even the “lower” prices frustrated many at the station.

“If we hadn’t gone to Iraq, it wouldn’t be this high,” claimed Dave Anderson of Terre Haute as he filled his PT Cruiser at Thornton’s southernmost store.

Behind him, Camille Kauffman waited patiently in her Chevrolet Cavalier for her turn to fuel up. Kauffman stopped in Terre Haute on her trip from Ohio to New Mexico, where she is hopeful that lower gas prices await. Gas prices already have affected her trip.

“I packed food instead of eating at restaurants” to save money, she said.

The quick jump in gas prices comes from several sources, said Phil Flynn, vice president and senior market analyst with Chicago-based Alaron Trading. He cited the leading reason as destruction caused by Hurricane Ivan, which shut down off-shore rigs in the Gulf of Mexico and has stunted the production of crude oil by 420,000 barrels per day.

“When you add that up, every three days, you’re losing a million barrels of oil,” he said. “So in a week, you’re losing as much oil as Iraq is producing.”

The drop in supply is driving up prices. The future contract for December closed on the New York Stock Exchange at a record $55.17 a barrel on Friday, according to The Associated Press.

Flynn said motorists at this time of year usually see lower prices at the pump because winter is not the peak driving season. However, that’s not the case because the supply has dipped.

“Because our supplies of gasoline are falling at the time it should be rising, the gasoline prices have gone up,” Flynn said.

In addition, the threat of strikes in Nigeria and Norway, two main producers of crude oil, have driven up prices. However, The Associated Press on Monday reported that the Norwegian strikes would end.

Flynn also cited the fear of terrorism surrounding the presidential election. “You’ve had a lot of issues that have hit the market at this time,” he said.

Michael Right, vice president of public affairs for the AAA’s Missouri club, was surprised at the surge in gas prices.

“That doesn’t happen in one day,” he said. “I’ve never seen 30 cents in one day — unless [it is] the cumulative of all the pressures that are moving gasoline prices higher.”

The high prices in mid-May in Terre Haute were caused by low inventory, high prices of crude oil, the war and the switch from winter-blend to summer-blend fuel.

According to AAA’s Web site, the national average for regular gasoline was $2.01 on Monday.

Flynn said drivers should expect high gas prices indefinitely.

“There is no doubt that these prices are probably going to stay strong throughout most of the winter,” he said. “We probably won’t see a drop anytime soon.”

That was not good news for Joanne Margolis, who was driving a Budget Rental truck from Texas to her new home in Ohio. She feels helpless with the skyrocketing gas prices.

“What can you do?” she questioned. “You don’t have a lot of choices.”