Gasoline Prices

Not long after the Maryland General Assembly last adjourned back in mid-April, gasoline prices were approaching $4 a gallon. Currently, a price-conscious shopper can purchase a gallon of regular unleaded in the Baltimore area for as little as $3.50. That's a 50-cent swing in prices, essentially a 12.5 percent discount from just one month ago. So, Mr. and Mrs. Average Maryland Consumer, has this drop in prices had a huge impact on your life? Has it revived the economy? Put the unemployed back to work?

Not long after the Maryland General Assembly last adjourned back in mid-April, gasoline prices were approaching $4 a gallon. Currently, a price-conscious shopper can purchase a gallon of regular unleaded in the Baltimore area for as little as $3.50. That's a 50-cent swing in prices, essentially a 12.5 percent discount from just one month ago. So, Mr. and Mrs. Average Maryland Consumer, has this drop in prices had a huge impact on your life? Has it revived the economy? Put the unemployed back to work?

Four bucks a gallon for gas? In the years since gas prices went from 39 cents per gallon to $3.39, I have seen nothing but an increase in traffic. I don't expect to see any difference if it goes to $10-a-gallon either. There still remains primarily one 150-pound person per 3,000-pound automobile and they all have trouble entering the highway. They all (myself included) will get in a car and drive two miles just to purchase a tube of toothpaste. So why get upset? Not worth it?

Gasoline prices continue to climb, and the Republican presidential candidates would have us believe that this is the direct result of President Barack Obama's energy policies. They say that if only he would get out of the way of the oil companies and stop dreaming up ever more environmental regulations, we'd all be paying $2.50 a gallon. They are wrong, of course. Gasoline prices are high because demand is high. And while the unquenchable thirst for petroleum in India and China has a place it all of this, it is mostly my fault.

With rising oil prices creating a drag on the economy and his re-election effort, President Barack Obama mocked Republican critics of his alternative-energy policy Thursday, comparing them to the "cynics and naysayers" who didn't believe the Earth was round or that television would take off. Obama used a campaign-style appearance at Prince George's Community College to launch a new, more aggressive line of attack against the GOP presidential contenders...

The sharp drop in the price of oil began to push down prices of gasoline at the retail level as the average national price fell by almost 2 cents a gallon for self-serve regular, according to a national survey.The Lundberg Survey, which traces gasoline prices every two weeks by polling about 10,000 stations, said the price fell by 1.96 cents, to $1.0606 a gallon, for regular unleaded, the best-selling type."That's a big drop," said Trilby Lundberg, the publisher of a newsletter based on the survey.

ANNAPOLIS -- The Persian Gulf war may be over, but the Annapolis war against oil profiteering has just begun.Oil company executives trooped to this capital city by the dozen yesterday to battle a bill that would prohibit price-gouging.The bill would make it a crime to charge "excessive prices" for petroleum products during times of "market disruption or state of emergency."Exceptions are granted in cases where the seller can prove the higher price resulted from higher costs.The bill, according to its sponsor, Delegate Gary R. Alexander, D-Prince George's, is a reaction to "the sudden, unexpected, unbelievable increase in the price of petroleum products at the pump" after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.

The end of the summer travel season traditionally brings relief at the pump - but don't expect it this year. "There seems to be no end in sight to high gasoline prices," said Ragina Averella, spokeswoman for AAA Mid-Atlantic. The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in the United States hit an all-time high, not adjusted for inflation, of almost $2.37 last week. Average gasoline prices rose almost 8 cents a gallon last week, the U.S. Energy Department reported yesterday, and are up nearly 50 cents since a year ago. The wholesale price of a barrel of crude oil for September delivery closed up nearly 3 percent, at $63.94, yesterday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

WASHINGTON - Sensing as much political promise as peril in soaring gasoline prices, Vice President Al Gore has unleashed an unusually harsh condemnation of the oil industry, accusing energy companies of "collusion" and price "gouging." Gore issued a statement late Tuesday night decrying what he called oil industry profit gains of "500 percent in the first part of this year" and demanding an investigation into allegations of price fixing and collusion. "These enormous and unreasonable profits suggest that Big Oil is gouging American consumers," Gore said.

WHEN gasoline prices soar or plummet, the reason given is always the market. Simple supply and demand. Except that the basic economic explanation is never so simple. Pump prices are typically raised for Labor Day weekend. This year, instead, they were mostly stable in these parts. But demand for gas all summer has been at historically high levels, peaking in late June. And pump prices have dropped, sinking nearly 30 cents a gallon from the mid-May peak. In fact, some refiners cut back on their production in summer in an effort to curb the oversupply and further price drops.

Four bucks a gallon for gas? In the years since gas prices went from 39 cents per gallon to $3.39, I have seen nothing but an increase in traffic. I don't expect to see any difference if it goes to $10-a-gallon either. There still remains primarily one 150-pound person per 3,000-pound automobile and they all have trouble entering the highway. They all (myself included) will get in a car and drive two miles just to purchase a tube of toothpaste. So why get upset? Not worth it?

LARGO -- A crowd of hundreds at Prince George's Community College is awaiting the arrival this morning of President Barack Obama, who is due to deliver the latest in a series of addresses on energy as rising oil costs create a drag on the economic recovery -- and his own re-election effort. Obama has stressed what he calls an "all of the above" approach to both energy independence and more drilling: Extracting domestic oil and natural gas while investing in solar, wind and other emerging technologies.

With rising oil prices creating a drag on the economy and his re-election effort, President Barack Obama mocked Republican critics of his alternative-energy policy Thursday, comparing them to the "cynics and naysayers" who didn't believe the Earth was round or that television would take off. Obama used a campaign-style appearance at Prince George's Community College to launch a new, more aggressive line of attack against the GOP presidential contenders...

Over the past month, the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline has increased 25 cents in Maryland. As far as anyone can tell, the motorists of this state received no particular benefit from the change in price - aside from a lighter wallet or purse. Gasoline prices may rise higher yet, as they often do in the summer months when demand increases. Or, if the political tensions with Iran and its nuclear program dissipate, prices may actually go down as fear of supply interruptions diminishes.

"Gas prices are outrageous. " Catherine Bell, a 66-year-old Social Security Administration retiree, was not happy Tuesday as she filled up her Chrysler at a Howard Street BP Amoco gas station in Baltimore. "You'll see when you get to retirement and you're on a fixed income. " The Baltimore resident reflects the feeling of a lot of Maryland motorists. Gasoline prices across the state and the nation are climbing fast, and motorists could see $4 a gallon at the pump in the coming months, fueled by demand in China and India and turmoil in the oil-rich Middle East, analysts say. The average price of regular unleaded gasoline in Maryland this month was $3.56 a gallon - nearly 20 cents more than in January and far above the $1.91 average in February three years ago. In Baltimore, the price averaged $3.59 last week, 50 cents more than a year ago, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.

When Gov. Martin O'Malley gives his annual State of the State address Wednesday, he will officially unveil his plan to apply a 6 percent sales tax to gasoline. The public's mood about gas prices being what it is, the governor probably shouldn't expect huge applause — despite the fact he deserves it. Maryland hasn't raised the gasoline tax since William Donald Schaefer was governor two decades ago, and the current rate — applied as a 23.5-cent charge per gallon — has been rendered insufficient by inflation.

Rising fuel costs forced Leroy Yegge, who owns Bruno's Pizza in South Baltimore, to reluctantly tack on a 50-cent surcharge to his delivery orders. The trendy Ixia Restaurant in the city's Mount Vernon section is aiming to use ingredients that are not as costly to deliver as it develops its new spring menu. And at Baltimore Blossoms Floral Boutique, owner Rachelle Bland recently raised the price of deliveries beyond her immediate area to $9.95, from $7.95. "I tried hard to stay lower than other places for so long, hoping that gas prices would go down," she said.

The American consumer, who had shopped steadily through a sluggish job market, terror warnings, major storms and a historic blackout, suddenly became frugal last month, sending retail sales to their largest decline in 16 months. Whether the drop was a blip or an indicator that four years of expanding credit and free spending were coming to a close, analysts' conclusions were mixed. Gas prices, slow growth in wages and credit-card interest fears may have begun to take a toll on shoppers' psyches, and their wallets, some retail experts and consumers said.

I am one of the owners of Ray Adolph's Citgo on York Road in Lutherville. Earlier this week, our station was mentioned in an editorial ("A dime's worth of difference," May 23) for having gasoline prices more than 10 cents higher than neighboring stations. While that was accurate, I would like to enlighten the general public as to what occurred that week. On May 9, our station was posting a competitive price for fuel. But looking ahead, I saw on my supplier's web site that the cost of fuel was going to be 10 cents per gallon higher on Tuesday and 20 cents by Wednesday.

Even with gasoline prices at near-record levels, Marylanders are expected to travel during Memorial Day weekend in the same robust numbers as last year, AAA Mid-Atlantic predicts. But to make sure potential visitors aren't discouraged by the price at the pumps, some Ocean City hotels are offering vouchers good for up to $50 in gas for guests who book for multiple days. Judging by its forecast Tuesday, AAA doesn't think Marylanders will need much of a push to get on the road. AAA predicts that 719,400 Marylanders will go on vacation this holiday weekend, roughly the same number as last Memorial Day. Of those expected to travel 50 miles or more, 644,000 people will be on the road, a decline of 0.7 percent, attributed largely to gasoline prices.