As crude oil prices hit $100 per barrel, motorists wince at higher pump prices coming down the pipe

By: Gary B. Gray/Bristol Herald Courier | TriCities.com
Published: January 04, 2008

BRISTOL, Va. – Virginia motorists aren’t starting the New Year as happily as they may have hoped.

The price of crude oil topped $100 a barrel for the second straight day on Thursday. The jump was obvious in Bristol, where gas station employees at many locations were busy changing prices on marquees.

Call them "signs of the times."

The average price for regular, self-serve gasoline across the commonwealth was $2.95 early Wednesday, about 12 cents higher than last week’s average, according to a survey of 3,220 Virginia retailers by AAA Mid-Atlantic.

The average is about the same for Bristol Virginia and Abingdon, Va.

"Of course it’s going up; it’s always going up," said William Owen, 73, while filling up at a Chevron station on Euclid Avenue, where the price was $2.93 per gallon. "When it goes up five times at five different stations in five hours, you know something’s getting ready to happen."

Hunter Miller, 68, also was at the station making sure to fill up before prices climbed even higher.

"I’ll bet there’s others filling up, because they know something’s coming," he said. "I’m paying $2.93 here, but just down the road it’s $2.98. You’ve got to have it, so you buy it. That’s about the only choice you have."

A typical Virginia household could spend $835 more on gasoline in 2008 compared with 2007, according to a AAA Mid-Atlantic report. The estimate is based on the average price of gas now compared with the average price of $2.22 per gallon on Jan. 2, 2007.

To no one’s surprise, the culprit for skyrocketing fuel prices is increased demand, falling domestic stockpiles and international instability, according to AAA.

"Personally, I think this is ridiculous" said Heather Meyers, 27, who also was getting gas at the Chevron station. "They should be investing much more in alternative uses, such as hydrogen fuel cells."

Meanwhile, a spot check by AAA also found rising prices in East Tennessee and the Tri-Cities area.

Wednesday’s Fuel Finder average of 17 stations in Bristol was $2.93, up 13.9 cents from last week’s average. The most common price found Wednesday was $2.92, seen at seven stations. The highest price was $2.93 and the lowest price was $2.88.

The highest average prices spotted Wednesday were in Kingsport and Johnson City at $2.95 per gallon.

Just how much Americans spend on gasoline during a year depends on many factors. AAA Mid-Atlantic estimates that the average household tacks on an additional 23,100 miles in travel each year.

It may have been a good idea in 1998, when monthly prices averaged $1 per gallon.

"It seems like in areas such as the South, they don’t make as much money as people in other parts of the country," Meyers added. "In places like California, prices may rise too. But they still have disposable income after paying the increased prices."

A key report to watch is the Energy Department’s weekly fuel inventory report, said Martha Mitchell Meade, AAA Mid-Atlantic’s manager of public and government affairs.

"As a rule of thumb, for every dollar the price of crude increases, the retail cost of gasoline will increase between 1 and 3 cents a gallon at the pump," Meade explained. "Under normal circumstances, it takes approximately about a month for any crude oil price hike to reach prices at the pump."

ggray@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-251