Go Gas Prices, Go.

Exactly one week ago the gas at the Wilco-Hess Station in downtown Kernersville was priced at mere $3.65 per gallon with plenty of gas to supply to its consumers.  At the end of the week, the demand for gas sky rocketed.  Drivers were lined up for several blocks waiting to top off their tanks before the next shipment of gas came in.  This week the station has gas priced at $3.99 per gallon and a majority of the fueling stations have bags over the handles signaling to consumers that the station is temporarily out of gas.  The phenomenon that caused these sequence of events can be described as nothing less than a powerful might of destruction named Ike. But, even Ike can't explain the irrationality of those drivers waiting in line to fill up their tanks.  It's all too obvious that someone forgot to teach them about the laws of supply and demand, or maybe they just weren't lucky enough to take Civics and Economics in high school.

Speculators and Meteorologists alike had forecasted catastrophic damage before the hurricane arrived in Galveston and many were already anticipating a rise in gas prices. It turned out that Ike managed to disrupt operations at only ten oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.  A number that was far less than predicted.  However, this small number has still managed to have a significant impact on the price for gas. Or has it?  The truth of the matter is that these ten oil rigs may result in a lower quantity of oil/gas supplied to consumers temporarily, but the main reason for the rise in prices is due to the actions of consumers.  The secret to the increased prices lies in the unnecessary, yet gigantic increase in demand for gasoline over the past several days.  Consumers across the east coast and other parts of America are rushing to top off their tanks when they have plenty of gas.  As a result, the market is simply adjusting automatically to the increased to demand resulting in higher prices which in theory help to relieve shortages like the one at the Wilco-Hess Station in Kernersville. 

So, if you don't want gas prices to continue rising like a hot air balloon, I can only suggest that you stop buying gas you don't need. You're really only saving a few cents when you top off your tank and you're surely going to pay more in the long run.