Question Business
Gas Prices Near $6 a Gallon In Parts of Florida: Is this illegal?
Pamela *Raccoon* September 15, 2008 23:12:14
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Gasoline prices rose up to $5.50 a gallon in parts of Florida on Friday when rumors of a fuel shortage spread across the state. Motorists in Tallahassee were lined up to pay $5.49 per gallon.
A fuel panic swept Gainesville on Thursday, where long gas lines spilled over onto a busy thoroughfare, tempers flared and the police were called, said Randy Bly, a spokesman for AAA Auto Club South.
But Agriculture and Consumers Services Commissioner Charlie Bronson responded quickly.
“There is no fuel shortage in Florida,” Bronson said. “There's hundreds of millions of gallons available.”
Bronson promised to act quickly to any price gougers.
He said he would subpoena the records of any gas station suspected of price gouging. Violators face a $10,000 fine per violation, up to $25,000 a day. He said retailers can’t raise prices arbitrarily just because they anticipate higher prices in the future.
But, according to Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services spokesman Terry McElroy it doesn't necessarily mean retailers are gouging customers when prices rise wildly.
If wholesale prices justify the increases, there's not much regulators can do, he said.
Marsha Kut, travel Manager for Lee County AAA, predicted a 20- to 30-cent increase at Lee County pumps.
She said the hike should be short term, lasting a few days to a week.
“We have enough oil,” she said.
Ike’s relentless march across the Gulf of Mexico has had little effect on crude oil future contracts. They even dropped below $100 a gallon at one point Friday before settling at $102.50.
Randy Bly, a spokesman for AAA Auto Club South, said rising prices at the pump seem counterintuitive. He said the increase is related to refinery capacity.
“Our office has been flooded with calls,” Bly said “This was consumer-driven, it was like a run on the bank. There really is no shortage, we are well supplied. There could be some spot outages. We anticipate a price increase of 20 cents to 30 cents a gallon in the next few days.”
Gasoline contracts for October delivery spiked more than 8 percent — 2.08 cents per gallon — on Friday.
“The nightmare scenario is unfolding before our eyes,” said Jim Rouiller, senior energy meteorologist with Planalytics Inc. in Wayne, Pa.
Ike’s storm surge will “completely inundate all the refineries and chemical plants that line Galveston Bay from Texas City all the way to Baytown. It’s a storm surge that this part of Texas hasn’t experienced in a lifetime.”
The American Automobile Association reported that the statewide average price for a gallon of unleaded gas in Florida today is $3.69, a penny higher than the national average. Average prices peaked nationally at $4.13 a gallon for regular unleaded on July 1 and have been falling steadily ever since.
A fuel panic swept Gainesville on Thursday, where long gas lines spilled over onto a busy thoroughfare, tempers flared and the police were called, said Randy Bly, a spokesman for AAA Auto Club South.
But Agriculture and Consumers Services Commissioner Charlie Bronson responded quickly.
“There is no fuel shortage in Florida,” Bronson said. “There's hundreds of millions of gallons available.”
Bronson promised to act quickly to any price gougers.
He said he would subpoena the records of any gas station suspected of price gouging. Violators face a $10,000 fine per violation, up to $25,000 a day. He said retailers can’t raise prices arbitrarily just because they anticipate higher prices in the future.
But, according to Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services spokesman Terry McElroy it doesn't necessarily mean retailers are gouging customers when prices rise wildly.
If wholesale prices justify the increases, there's not much regulators can do, he said.
Marsha Kut, travel Manager for Lee County AAA, predicted a 20- to 30-cent increase at Lee County pumps.
She said the hike should be short term, lasting a few days to a week.
“We have enough oil,” she said.
Ike’s relentless march across the Gulf of Mexico has had little effect on crude oil future contracts. They even dropped below $100 a gallon at one point Friday before settling at $102.50.
Randy Bly, a spokesman for AAA Auto Club South, said rising prices at the pump seem counterintuitive. He said the increase is related to refinery capacity.
“Our office has been flooded with calls,” Bly said “This was consumer-driven, it was like a run on the bank. There really is no shortage, we are well supplied. There could be some spot outages. We anticipate a price increase of 20 cents to 30 cents a gallon in the next few days.”
Gasoline contracts for October delivery spiked more than 8 percent — 2.08 cents per gallon — on Friday.
“The nightmare scenario is unfolding before our eyes,” said Jim Rouiller, senior energy meteorologist with Planalytics Inc. in Wayne, Pa.
Ike’s storm surge will “completely inundate all the refineries and chemical plants that line Galveston Bay from Texas City all the way to Baytown. It’s a storm surge that this part of Texas hasn’t experienced in a lifetime.”
The American Automobile Association reported that the statewide average price for a gallon of unleaded gas in Florida today is $3.69, a penny higher than the national average. Average prices peaked nationally at $4.13 a gallon for regular unleaded on July 1 and have been falling steadily ever since.
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Top Comment
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Yes. If the average is 3.69, how can someone charge 5.49 because of a gas shortage rumor?
It's called gouging.View thread
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Yes. If the average is 3.69, how can someone charge 5.49 because of a gas shortage rumor?
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Yes. If the average is 3.69, how can someone charge 5.49 because of a gas shortage rumor?
No. Rising gas prices is fair due to Hurricane Ike's crisis.
Yes. If the average is 3.69, how can someone charge 5.49 because of a gas shortage rumor?
Yes. If the average is 3.69, how can someone charge 5.49 because of a gas shortage rumor?
Undecided
Yes. If the average is 3.69, how can someone charge 5.49 because of a gas shortage rumor?
Undecided
Yes. If the average is 3.69, how can someone charge 5.49 because of a gas shortage rumor?
Yes. If the average is 3.69, how can someone charge 5.49 because of a gas shortage rumor?
No. Rising gas prices is fair due to Hurricane Ike's crisis.
Yes. If the average is 3.69, how can someone charge 5.49 because of a gas shortage rumor?
Undecided
Yes. If the average is 3.69, how can someone charge 5.49 because of a gas shortage rumor?
It is semantically loaded with negative connotations against the merchants involved. However, according to Thomas Sowell's book, Basic Economics, high prices can instead be viewed as information for use in determining the best allocation of scarce resources for which there are multiple uses. Thus, when a natural disaster strikes, and the price of plywood jumps up, a hobbyist considering a new base for his model railroad layout may opt to wait until prices have returned to pre-crisis levels, just to give one example.
Most still view price gouging as an immoral activity and many regions have laws banning profiteering from emergencies. These laws usually state that prices should not climb more than a certain percentage after a disaster without demonstrable cause.
Yes. If the average is 3.69, how can someone charge 5.49 because of a gas shortage rumor?
Are you sure it isn't .9999 cents The other way makes it look like ninetynine dollars and.999 cents