Gas prices on the rise, near $4 at some spots

Gasoline prices spiked in the Midwest this week and as of Thursday were getting close to $4 at some local stations.

"Customers are upset," said Ravi Singh, who manages the BP station at 4501 Verona Road.

Gas at Singh's station was among the highest priced in town at $3.89 per gallon, but Singh said his store's cost is $3.85.

"It's not a big margin," he said.

Singh said the price climbed throughout the week. It went up four cents Thursday,

23 cents Wednesday and 14 cents Tuesday.

The average gas price in Madison Thursday was $3.75, while the national average was $3.56, according to MadisonGasPrices.com. It was up 10 cents in Madison from the day before and 36 cents from one week ago, according to the site.

Some stations in Madison are charging as much as $3.99. The lowest in the area was $3.53 found at stations in Mt. Horeb and Mazomanie, according to MadisonGasPrices.com.

According to AAA, the average cost of gas in Wisconsin Thursday was $3.67.

The price increase is caused by refinery and pipeline problems in the Midwest, including the Enbridge pipeline spill of some 1,200 barrels of oil in rural Grand Marsh, Wis., last week, said Patrick DeHaan, a senior petroleum analyst for the gas pricing website GasBuddy.com.

The high prices will be temporary, he said.

"It may impact us for another week or two, and it will probably be at least two or three weeks before we really notice prices going back down."

The cost of wholesale gasoline is determined like a stock, with buyers and sellers, DeHaan said.

"It's kind of an auction, if you will. What's going on is, when we see issues arise, like the ones we saw, it puts upward pressure on prices."

People bid up gasoline, he said. "And that's what we saw here."

(c)2012 The Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, Wis.)

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