More gas pains

Maybe someone can explain this to me. Even as Hurricane Ike was rumbling across the Gulf of Mexico, we started hearing that it was going to have a negative effect on gas prices.

They weren’t lying.

But then a strange thing happened. The hurricane didn’t take the precise route that was expected. Refining centers in the Galveston, Texas, area did not take the catastrophic hit that was expected. They shut down, but they weren’t destroyed, which some forecasters had been predicting.

So what happened? Gas prices jumped anyhow. And not just in the Gulf region and some areas in the South, where there were reports of price spikes and even some stations running out of gas.

Here in the Philadelphia region, AAA reports prices went up 11 cents over the weekend. The average price yesterday was being reported at $3.68.

And it’s not over. Prices could toy with the $4-a-gallon mark again before this is over. And it all stems from Hurricane Ike.

AAA said the storm is causing tightening supplies and, hence, higher prices at the pump.

Some refineries say it could be three weeks before they get back on line.

In the meantime, the price of crude oil fell below $100 a barrel for the first time in ages.

Don’t hold your breath waiting for that development to show up at the pump.

Funny how it always takes so much longer for the price drops to kick in, as opposed to price hikes.

Maybe that’s why they call it gas pains.

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