Gas costs more in Shoals than other parts of state

MONTGOMERY - The price of gasoline has dropped more than $1 a gallon in some areas of Alabama - but not in the Shoals. Here, it is at least 54 cents a gallon higher than just miles down the road.

The price of regular, self-serve gasoline in the Shoals on Wednesday was between $3.67 and $3.75 a gallon at midday, according to GasBuddy.com, a fuel price tracking web site.

Gas in Iuka, Miss., was $3.13 a gallon at some locations. A south Huntsville independent station had gas for $2.92 a gallon, according to GasBuddy.com.

Just north of the Shoals in Savannah, Tenn., the price of gas was $3.29 a gallon, which was the low price in many areas of Alabama.

A spokeswoman for Mapco Express Inc., which was selling gasoline for $3.67 a gallon in the Shoals, said she didn't know when the Shoals will see lower prices.

When asked why gasoline cost more in the Shoals than in other locations, Mapco spokeswoman Paula Lovell said, "It's related to wholesale price as well as the market in general."

According to GasBuddy, Mapco gasoline was selling for between $3.18 a gallon in north Memphis and $3.69 in other Tennessee locations, higher than gas at even some branded stations.

The price of gasoline has dropped at least 70 cents a gallon at the pump since Hurricane Ike spiked gas to near or above $4 a gallon in September. It could go below $3 a gallon by the weekend.

Gasoline prices are dropping everywhere.

Gasoline at an independent station in Hattiesburg, Miss., was $2.75 a gallon.

The average price of gas Wednesday in Alabama was $3.61 a gallon, according to AAA Alabama. A month ago, it was $3.59 a gallon and a year ago it was $2.68 a

gallon.

Gasoline is dropping in price partly because the U.S. dollar is increasing in value and because motorists are cutting back on their driving. Crude oil trades in U.S. dollars.

Dana Beyerle can be reached at (334) 264-6605 or dtb12345@aol.com.