Why Have NC’s Gas Prices Been Dropping– Slowly?
posted by Dominque Elliott | September 13, 2017 | In NewsAt the end of August- Hurricane Harvey hit a key pipeline along the U.S Gulf Coast that ran from Texas to the East Coast. It was shut down temporarily- along with a few refineries. The Colonial Pipeline Co. carried 58.8 million gallons of gas and its shut down affected the gas prices of North Carolina by causing them to rise.
Although the gas pipeline and these refineries are now up and running- and prices have dropped a few cents-the average cost of gas is still relatively high. According to the News & Observer of Raleigh, NC- the average gas prices for North Carolina as of two weeks ago was $2.626. As of September 21st, 2017, Gas Buddy reported that the average price of gasoline for the state was $2.571.
So prices are dropping, but why aren’t they dropping fast enough?
An economist of North Carolina State University, Mike Walden, explained to WRAL-TV why it’ll take a while for gas to return to its normal cost: “Everyone doesn’t eat bananas, but virtually everyone uses gasoline. So, when people hear there’s a disruption in supply, they run into the station, top off their tanks,” he said. “In economics lingo, that tends to increase demand and allows the seller to sell for more.”
He also went on to explain the thought process of sellers saying, “Well, people got used to this higher price, so I’m going to try to get a little bit more. … I know that doesn’t sound fair to a lot of people, but it’s temporary.”
Fortunately, for North Carolina and FSU student commuters- competition will eventually bring these prices down, although it will be a slow.
State residents can also report gas stations that they believe have been price-gouging to the Attorney General’s Office. Hundreds of complaints have already been filed, but it’ll be hard to prove if most states have the same prices.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.