This article is pulled from MOR’s archives. It is written by Andy Travis and originally published on November 27th, 2000.
For all those who follow the futures markets, you already know that oil futures recently passed $35 a barrel. For all you who didn’t know that, you’re probably wondering what I am talking about. To keep it simple, it means that there will be no immediate relief from the current high gas prices.
The reason for the high prices is due to the high demand on petroleum in the United States. Members of OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries), control the price by regulating the amount of crude oil they produce. With the high demand, more oil has had to be released, but the supply can’t keep up with the demand. With that in mind, here is your beginner’s course in economics. When there is a high demand and low supply, prices go up. The rise in prices of crude oil then causes the price of gas to rise also.
With gas prices in Durham hovering around $1.60 a gallon (which is right around the national average), Oyster River students are starting to feel the high prices hit their wallets. “I hate the high prices. It sometimes costs me $20-25 dollars a week just to keep gas in my truck,” complains Bill Doherty.
Matt Goodnow agrees, “I hate it [the high gas prices]! It causes me to get less gas every time I stop, so I have to stop more, which is a pain because I keep forgetting which side my gas cap is on.”
Even student with economy cars are upset about the prices. Dan Noronha, who gets 50 miles a gallon comments, “It stinks! It’s just the government taking advantage of the hard workers of America.”
Though prices are at very high levels, when weighted for inflation, gas prices still compare to the average prices over the last 20 years. With this in mind though, prices are starting to spike up to the point where they will soon be higher than historical levels if no relied comes.
Some students at Oyster River realize that the prices aren’t too high and just pay the extra money. “It’s not that big of a deal,” says Craig St. Onge. “I pay about 15 bucks every week and I am all set for gas.” Tom Pringle also doesn’t seem to mind. “It costs me about 30 dollars a month which is not too much of a problem.”
With no immediate price cuts coming in the near future, it looks like everyone is just going to have to deal with the prices. Even with the current prices, students don’t seem to be deterred to drive less, they just have less spending money or they just need to put in a couple more hours at their after school jobs.
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