Gas Prices Shoot Up Again

By Martha Dalton

Atlanta – Gas prices have spiked again. This week, Georgians will pay an average of 19 cents more for a gallon of gas than they did last week. WABE's Martha Dalton reports.

Triple A Spokesperson Jessica Brady says oil prices surged last week after the unrest in Libya caused producers there to cut their output by two-thirds:
"Not only has production been disrupted in Libya, but now the protests have spread over into Amman, which has increased concern even further that oil production could be disrupted in other neighboring countries across the Mideast."
Brady says prices will probably continue to climb. In addition to consumers, retailers will feel the pinch as well. Jim Tudor, of the Georgia Association of Convenience Stores, says [distributors] have to pay for gasoline upfront:

"So a retailer, especially a small retailer, has to make dollars off of the inventory that you have in the ground in order to have the cash to buy your next load of gasoline."

Tudor says a volatile market makes that difficult. The average price in the Atlanta area is three dollars and twenty eight cents a gallon for regular.