ALASKA - A big jump in gas prices Wednesday night caused some shock for Anchorage drivers.
Some stations in town raised their rates as much as 15 cents a gallon. That left some drivers wishing they had filled up the day before.
“I was driving home yesterday and saw prices were around $3.80,” said Eric Johnson. “I was at a quarter-tank and I thought I could make it. Now I wish I’d bought it because I am probably paying about five bucks more now just to fill up my tank.“
Cline’s Tesoro is one Anchorage station that raised rates 15 cents from Wednesday to Thursday.
Owner Rich Cline said he couldn’t help it.
On Wednesday Cline said the cost to fill his station tanks with fuel was about $38,000, but by Thursday his bill had risen to almost $40,000. He said he had no choice but to pass some of that on to his customers.
Cline said there is no extra profit going into his pocket. He said he makes around 11 cents for every gallon of gas he sells. The rest goes to oil companies, refineries and transportation.
An 8 cent sales tax goes into the mix, plus a two percent charge for credit cards. What’s left, he uses to pay himself and half a dozen employees.
Rising costs are a frustration to motorists but analysts said they are likely to go up even more.
Summer is traditionally the highest time for high gas prices and there’s not much that motorists can do.
