Drivers Curious When Gas Prices Will Hit Peak
BOSTON (CBS) -- Gas prices continue to go up, and drivers inMassachusettswant to know if there's anything they can do to change that.
Tony in Winchendon Declared his Curiosity asking, "How can gas stations raise their prices two or more times in a given day?"
Henry in Holbrook is also Curious asking, "How much is too much of a profit for the oil companies?"
AAA Southern New England reports Monday that a gallon of self-serve, regular is now selling for an average of $3.82 per gallon. That's up 19 cents in two weeks and is $1.02 more than at the same time last year.
The price is still four cents below the national average. AAA found self-serve regular as low as $3.73 and as high as $4.09.
Attorney General Martha Coakley says she's trying to make sure there isn't anything criminal going on, but even her hands are tied. She says she's put gas stations owners on notice that price gouging will not be tolerated. But she adds there's little government can do in the face of world markets driving the price up.
WBZ-TV's Bill Shields reports.
"What we want to do is monitor these to see are they anything that looks like collusion or price gouging," said Coakley.
While it's costing a small fortune to fill tanks these days, oil companies are recording record profits. But local retailers say they're not part of the windfall. Station owner Sean Garabeadian says his profit margin is down.
One market analyst said Monday that he believes the prices have hit a plateau.
