Document text
Wholesale gas prices soar, but later subside Wholesale gas prices spiked in response to Tuesday's suicide attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, then backed off, leaving only slight increases in retail prices at Medford-area gas pumps. The Associated Press reported that gas prices soared as high as $5 per gallon in some central U.S. markets, causing a predictable furor. AAA reported the national average price per gallon was $1.533 at the start of Tuesday. In Oregon, it was $1.74 and $1.71 in the Medford/Ashland area. Most local gas station owners either kept prices the same or raised them less than a nickel. Craig Randolph, vice president of retail operations at distributor Hays Oil in Medford, said refinery woes have led to much of the recent increase and Tuesday's terrorism added to the problem. "It definitely has had an impact," Randolph said. "We had some suppliers go anywhere from 10- to 20-cent increases. We're a Shell company and they e-mailed us that they'd be closed for the day. But they didn't do any price increases. Right now it's more trying to keep some distributors from running their (supply) out in a panic. Some of those increases we saw (Tuesday) morning were dropping (Tuesday) afternoon." Sales at pumps were brisk, Randolph added. "By mid-day we had sold what is typically sold all day," Randolph said. "We had to instruct our manager to raise the price to keep from running out. I hate to see it, it was for no good reason. I haven't seen the Exxon reports, I don't know if they were cut off or just to protect inventory. "It could all turn around tomorrow." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.