Curious About Rising Gas Prices
BOSTON (CBS) -- Gas prices keep soaring, and now the government is warning they could be as high as four dollars a gallon this summer. Prices have risen every day for three weeks, and are now fourteen cents higher than they were last week.
It's prompted several people to Declare their Curiosity. Everything from why prices vary so much from station to station to why they rise so quickly.
Mary Wright, pumping gas at Trapelo Mobil in Waltham believes they are set artificially high, but station owner Richard Campbell says he is beholden to the price set by his Mobil supplier.
WBZ-TV's Beth Germano reports.
Other independent stations can shop around for their price. "My pure profit boils down to two or three cents," according to Campbell, who says he loses money when the price of gas goes up. "It's not all gas is the same price. Every oil company charges a different amount," says Campbell.
His mark-up is eighteen cents a gallon, but he says that barely covers his rent and expenses and the fees credit card companies charge. That can be as much as ten cents a gallon.
"If the fees were eliminated, the price per gallon would drop dramatically," he said.
When the price goes up, credit cards get used even more as drivers likely don't have enough cash in their pocket. Some stations charge different prices for cash and credit, but Campbell says he's chosen not to do that at the request of his customers.
And why prices can't come down as fast as they go up, he says is up to the oil companies who take their time looking to see what the market will bear.
"They make more money on the downside than on the up. They hold the price longer than they should," he said.
He knows at $3.59 for self serve regular he's on the high end. But in this volatile market he says he always waits to make his move.
"I never raise a price before I get a delivery, that's not fair," he said.
