The effects of Hurricane Ike caused gasoline prices to rise by more than 10 cents over the weekend. The price here is for the Diamond Shamrock at 501 W. Ninth St.
The force of Hurricane Ike reached all the way to Lawrence over the weekend as gas prices jumped across the city.
Several stations reported increases of at least 10 cents per gallon in the wake of the hurricane, which forced the closure of oil refineries around the Gulf of Mexico and limited the availability of processed fuel.
Regular gasoline cost an average of $3.595 across Kansas on Sunday, according to AAA.
Sam Singhe, clerk at Jayhawk Food Mart, 701 W. Ninth St., said he witnessed a rush to the pumps Saturday as he was changing the store's sign to raise the price 12 cents.
The upward trend may not be over yet, said Sameer Sangam, owner of Speedway Shell, 1733 Mass. "It might spike even more now," he said. "Monday we'll know what is the extent of the damage and how much prices are going to go up."
Brett Self, of Lawrence, who was buying gas at a convenience store on Ninth Street on Sunday, said he wasn't worried about the increases, because he buys gas in small quantities. "I only usually buy five or six gallons at a time, so if the price goes up 10 cents, that's only costing me 60 cents," he said. "If it goes back up to $4 again, then I'll be angry."
Lawrence resident Ben Terwilliger said he filled up his car several days ago in anticipation of a spike. "It's expected, I suppose," he said. "It's frustrating, but what can you do?"
In other parts of the country, Ike left a bizarre pattern of prices at gas pumps, with disparities of more than $1 a gallon in some states, and even on some blocks.
"We're on the other side of the looking glass," said Claire Raines, who lives near Knoxville, Tenn. "I just passed three gas stations with prices that ran from about $3.50 to close to $5 within walking distance."
Average prices exceeded $4 per gallon in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, South Carolina, Hawaii and Alaska.
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Daytrader23 (anonymous) says…
Crude oil is in a steady decline. So if the prices don't come down then I would be asking some questions on why gas is not coming down as well.
c_dubya (anonymous) says…
Because the hurricane shut down about 11 refineries in TX. You don't put crude oil into your fuel tank genius.http://money.aol.com/news/articles/_a/bbdp/refineries-shut-down-on-hurricane-fears/170465
compmd (anonymous) says…
"Lawrence resident Ben Terwilliger said he filled up his car several days ago in anticipation of a spike."Sideshow Bob's long lost brother?On a more serious note, screw the oil companies.
compmd (anonymous) says…
"Smart people will move quickly to *diesel* cars as soon as they become available"There, fixed that for you.Diesel technology affords you the power to choose your fuel source. Electric cars lock you to one and only one power source. And don't we all hate Westar? Why would you want to feed them even more money? More importantly, when you break down in the middle of nowhere, which do you think has a better chance of getting repaired faster?
autie (anonymous) says…
My Texas peeps are telling me some of the stations are beginning to run out..My niece in Mesquite says this morning, the on the corner from her house is displaying that sign, "NO GAS"..I imagine the price will increase some more as this little issue grows..moves north, whatever. Here, all of our gas comes from Coffeyville, Ponca City and/or Augusta..so maybe the shortage will remain regional..
compmd (anonymous) says…
logrithmic,Fair enough. I like your style.
ohjayhawk (anonymous) says…
Wow, at least gas is still "cheap" out there, even after the hike. It went up to $3.999 here after the hike.
pahason (anonymous) says…
I would love for gas to be 3.57. Gas rose 20 cents here in Chicago to 4.20 and that is in the suburbs.
jackpot (anonymous) says…
Gas was trading down .2296 today. Now how long will it be before it hits the pumps? The price is back to before Ike hit.
imagold (anonymous) says…
Up $.22 in Topeka from $3.41 to $3.63 in one hike. Would like to wake up to a decrease like that some morning.
Starlight (anonymous) says…
I want a plug-in diesel electric hybrid.