In the Alleghany Highlands, the price for one gallon of Exxon’s regular gasoline fluctuates from $3.49.9 to $3.72.9, depending on the location.
The lowest price for one gallon of Exxon’s regular on Aug. 30, was posted in Clifton Dale Park on the One Stop Mart’s message board.
Motorists could drive on nearby I-64 to Covington where they could pay $3.72.9 at Pinehurst Exxon or $3.69.9 for the same gasoline per gallon at the Stop In Food Store/Arby’s.
As for the price of one gallon of regular gasoline in Clifton Dale Park at the Fast Break Food Store, a few hundred feet closer to I-64 than the One Stop Mart, motorists will pay $3.59.9 for a gallon of regular, 10 cents more per gallon.
With a price difference of 22 cents per gallon for the quality of gasoline between Clifton Dale Park and Covington, one might wonder why such a disparity exists in such close proximity.
Part of the answer to the question as to why the disparity in prices is that the cost of moving crude oil to a refinery varies depending upon the way it is delivered, by oil tanker across oceans, by truck or by pipeline.
However, in the case of the variable prices for one gallon of Exxon’s regular gasoline, a 22-cent price difference within a 15-mile-radius, cannot be attributed even in part to the cost of transporting crude oil to a refinery.
So, as in a classic TV commercial from long ago that featured a “little old lady” looking at a hamburger and quipping, “Where’s the beef!,” the question remains, why the disparity?
The answer is that different business owners have different contractual agreements that were signed at different times with the various oil companies, and those agreements differ in terms of delivery and taxes involved.
Consequently, the prices fluctuate, and as in free enterprise, prices of goods and services fluctuate across the country, evidenced by AAA’s listing of the average price in the U.S. for one gallon of regular gasoline on Aug. 30 as being $3.99.99 per gallon.
The average price per gallon of regular gasoline in the U.S. remains higher than the price for one gallon of regular gasoline a year ago, but the price has fallen from well over $4.00 per gallon since June.
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