With the threat of oil rig and refinery shutdowns along the Texas Gulf Coast because of high winds and raging tides, local motorists were confronted with raging gasoline prices that headed back up to the $4 a gallon mark.
Stations in Gainesville posted regular unleaded at $3.89 a gallon. The cheapest Access North Georgia's Jerry Gunn found was $3.65 a gallon on Atlanta Highway, but the further south he drove the higher the prices went.
At one grocery store on Highway 53 in Chestnut Mountain with gasoline, $4.35 a gallon glared from the price sign; just up the the road it was 3.79 a gallon, a 20 cent jump in one day.
Last week the same outlet was selling regular at $3.39 a gallon, $3.37 with a 3 cent discount if you had the store's customer card.
One Gainesville station on Shallowford Road posting $3.89 a gallon was selling regular unleaded at $3.65 a gallon Thursday night.
According to the Associated Press, Ike is forecast to land near Galveston about 50 miles southeast of Houston.
The region is home to about one-fifth of U.S. refining capacity, and the site of a major fuel and grain distribution channel.
Wholesale gasoline prices on the Gulf Coast went up to around $4.85 a gallon, as refineries anticipated that Ike would prompt at least a significant pause in their operations, and at worst, severe damage to their facilities.
Light, sweet crude for October delivery rose 62 cents to $101.49 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2008/9/213233