Gasoline prices in the Louisville area jumped Wednesday as Isaac, now a tropical storm again, ground its way through the Gulf Coast, shutting down oil refineries.
The highest confirmed price of gasoline Wednesday was $4.19, up 44 cents from the $3.75 average at the beginning of the day.
Spokesman Roger Boyd said Isaac, combined with the coming Labor Day holiday, created something of a perfect storm causing prices to spike.
“There was a pretty significant increase in wholesale prices as the storm was looming and refineries began to shut down,” he said. “Wholesale prices saw a pretty dramatic increase.”
That kind of thing is a “relatively normal” reaction to a storm such as Isaac, he said. Isaac came ashore as a hurricane at 7:45 p.m. Tuesday with 80 mph winds near the mouth of the Mississippi River.
Throw in Labor Day’s major travel holiday, and the price rise only gets worse, Boyd said.
Where prices ultimately top out will depend on what damage Isaac does.
Spokesman? for who or what? the article never mentions. Considering also all of the typos that I've encountered, something is happening to my C-J.
