05-01-07 by Dugan
OilWatchdog’s Insider is sounding the alarm about substantial new gasoline price increases in the pipeline in California. He told us last Friday about wholesale delivery increases of 8 cents to 10 cents at Southern California locations, and so far we’ve only seen about a nickel of those increases at the pump. And Monday, branded dealers were hit with more increases.
Here’s Insider’s latest: "Yesterday, wholesale delivery prices at locations in California (two of them near Los Angeles) went up about another nickel. This includes Chevron, Shell and 76 stations. Of course, since prices may be different from one dealer to the next because of oil companies’ so-called "zone pricing," the total may vary from even one part of a city to another. But it’s a rough guide to what’s happening.
"These increases all occurred within a few hours of each other, so it sure looks like the companies are finding out immediately what others are doing, and matching their increases.
"The bottom line for drivers is that there’s still up to a dime of wholesale pressure on gas station prices. Keep an eye out for the guy on the ladder, changing the price–upward."