Friday, Jan. 09, 2009

Gas prices on the rise in Tri-Cities

By Pratik Joshi, Herald staff writer

Gas prices in the Tri-Cities are inching up as snow and flooding elsewhere in Washington are hampering delivery of fuel.

Shyan Din, operator of Mid-Columbia Grocery at 6409 W. Court St. in Pasco, said he can't get gas supplies from Spokane. His station, which has earned a reputation for offering the lowest-priced gas in town, sold regular unleaded gas Thursday for about $1.69 a gallon, almost the same as charged by many other gas stations in the area.

Juan Parada, 21, of Kennewick, was dismayed by higher prices as he filled his Honda Accord at Din's station. He didn't know why the price was up a few cents a gallon.

"It'll keep going up," Parada said.

Din said he's being forced to buy gas locally. The price goes up if more middlemen are involved, said Din, who generally shops around before ordering gas.

At Amlesh Bassi's Tesoro gas station on Court Street and Road 26 in Pasco, a gallon of regular gas went up from $1.67 Wednesday to $1.72 Thursday.

That's because supplies are short, and oil trucks can't make it through the mountain passes, said Rod Smith, treasurer and vice president of wholesale fuels at R.H. Smith Distributing Co. in Grandview.

Pasco is getting gas and diesel carried by river barges and from a pipeline from Utah, linked through Boise. Much of the pipeline fuel is used to take care of the Boise market, Smith said.

Also, turmoil again in the Middle East and production cuts by the large oil-producing countries is affecting crude oil prices, he said. He doesn't know how it will affect retail gas prices in the long run, he said.

But Bassi said the average price of a gallon of regular gas could go as high as $2.50 by spring. Customers won't complain if it stays there, she said.

Bassi said branded gas sells at a higher price generally because dealers are under contract with suppliers and can't negotiate prices like independent operators do.

Jennifer May, 21, of Kennewick, who bought gas Thursday for $1.69 at Mark Jo's station at 221 S. 10th Ave. in Pasco, noticed the 4-cent markup immediately. The price of gas is going back up again, she said.

Suppliers have raised the prices, said Jo, who until noon Thursday sold gas at $1.65 a gallon. He raised the price after getting new supplies.

"I'm making three cents on a gallon," Jo said. Every time anything happens in the Middle East, gas prices go up, he said.

But Jo said gas still is cheaper than what it was a month ago. On Thursday, the average price in the Tri-Cities for a gallon of regular was $1.71, according AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report. Gas sold for $1.81 a gallon a month ago and for $3.17 a gallon a year ago.