Bismarck Tribune - Bismarck News - Gas prices drop across the state

Gas prices drop across the state

Oct 08, 2008 - 04:05:20 CDT

By CRYSTAL R. REID
Bismarck Tribune

Gas prices dropped across the state Tuesday, but Fargo-Moorhead motorists got the biggest break with some stores offering regular unleaded ethanol blends at $2.99 a gallon.

The North Dakota state average was at $3.40 a gallon Tuesday, according to AAANorth Dakota; that data reflects Monday's pricing.

According to AAA, Bismarck's average was $3.47 and Fargo's was $3.14 a gallon, but, by the end of the day Tuesday, Bismarck's stations were posting prices at $3.29 a gallon for regular unleaded ethanol blends and $3.39 for most non-ethanol, mid-grade blends.

Most Fargo stations, said station owners, were at $3.08 for ethanol blends, with some stations getting competitive at $2.99 a gallon.

"That's a marketer's decision, as to when they want to move their price,"said Mike Rud with the state Petroleum Marketer's Association."Ithink you're seeing it come down quite a bit. There's a strong possibility it will come down more."

The lower prices in Fargo-Moorhead, a point of contention for many Bismarck-Mandan motorists, were attributed to a highly competitive market and lower supplier pricing.

"Fargo's an aggressive gas-war type city,"said Rory Gjestvang, operations manager for Stamart Travel Centers, which has five stations in Fargo and three in Bismarck. "There's a lot of gas sold over here for no profit."

Bismarck's prices have dropped about 20 cents in the past two days, he added, but said there was still an 11-cent disparity in supplier pricing that's also keeping Bismarck's prices higher.

"What you get in Bismarck is more profitability in the stations,"he said. "They give a fair number on the street. As you see, it is coming down and it's lower than the national average."

Nationally, regular unleaded was selling for $3.48 a gallon, according to AAA fuel gauge reports. Over in Montana, motorists were paying $3.47 a gallon for regular unleaded.

Gene LaDoucer with AAA said prices could continue to drop as demand continues to decrease and crude oil prices - ending at $90.66 on Tuesday after posting an eight-month low on Monday - continue to dip with the country's economy.

"It's looking positive,"LaDoucer said about gasoline pricing. "I'm thinking that the statewide average will be approaching the $3 a gallon mark over the next several weeks."

The last time prices were at this level, he added, was March of this year. Since then, motorists suffered through $4 a gallon of gas and beyond during the heaviest driving season of the year.

But drivers may have made their point last season:nationally, demand for gasoline is expected to be 2 percent lower than last year, compared to consistent increases in demand for the past five years.

"The big thing (with pricing)is the economy; the turmoil it's going through has reduced demand for both oil and gasoline,"LaDoucer said.

Diesel prices finally dropped below $4 a gallon Tuesday, too, LaDoucer noted, although that's minor relief to farmers who were paying nearly half that about 15 months ago.

(Reach reporter Crystal R. Reid at 250-8261 or at crystal.reid@bismarcktribune.com.)

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Comments

Grumpy Old Republican wrote on Oct 10, 2008 8:14 AM:

" Apparently the BMGPCC must have heard about all the dissenters in the area, since the price here is now $2.99. "

question wrote on Oct 10, 2008 8:12 AM:

" Who owns the gas stations in bismarck? "

LPS wrote on Oct 9, 2008 2:47 PM:

" Just for thought.....the last time that oil was selling for $90 a barrel, gas was about $2.19 a gallon. Well, oil is about that again, but we're still at about $3.00 a gallon. Hmmm, someone is making a great profit around here!! "

abc wrote on Oct 8, 2008 8:55 PM:

" $2,89 in Fargo tonight. 30 cents less a gallon than Bismarck's new, improved $3.19. "

shawn wrote on Oct 8, 2008 7:23 PM:

" glad to see its finally dropping well behind schedule maybe if more of us cared or commented about this we would see some action. I saw more public responses for what time the dance team has to get up to get to practice in mandan or mountain lion sightings then I saw for the gas monopoly. As for seeing no profit on the gas at these stations, they are not suppose to the gas is just to get you in, its the junk inside that they are going to make their profit on smokes pops lotto tickets why do you think those stations in fargo sell for little to no profit . Because its a hook to get you in so you do all your other shopping there. "

steve C. wrote on Oct 8, 2008 7:16 PM:

" to give me a break: I agree with you 110%. Just this week gas was at 3.27/gal in washburn and my wife said it was 3 cents higher in Bismarck. We have been fed every line in the book by the Bismarck gas station owners and the ND Petroleum Assoc. I really like the ones about the supply/demand issue. Must not have that in the small towns since they can be less expensive. Even on another subject, I have bought propane from Wilton Cenex for the last 7-8 years or more. They can drive 20 miles to fill my tank and still be 10 cents a gallon cheaper than the Bismarck Cenex. And on one more subject about Bismarck Cenex, I have boycotted them and still do not buy from them when they raised their prices over the 911 incident. Talk about gougers! "

bigpoppakdog wrote on Oct 8, 2008 5:17 PM:

" a barrel of oil has dropped over 37% while a gallon of gas has dropped 14% a gallon. "

CONSUMER wrote on Oct 8, 2008 3:15 PM:

" I too have heard for years of the two families that have a monopoly on the gas prices. I think we as Bismarck consumers should boycott their stations and let our pocketbooks speak. Our city officials ignore and avoid the issue, and try to lead us to believe Bismarck is a cheap place to live. We don't need to be told that they (Fargo) has a more competetive market. Why is that? They never tell us why that is. I would like answers as I am sure a lot of others would too. Ladoucer tries to tell us we should feel fortunate because it has dropped, but the article fails to address the issue as to why we are so much higher than Fargo. "

Just to let you know wrote on Oct 8, 2008 1:52 PM:

" I work at the refinery in mandan and just today i found out that the gas stations in bismarck are currently making 59 cents per gallon sold. before that they were at 69 cents per gallon but they must have felt bad and lowered the price down to $3.29. "

John wrote on Oct 8, 2008 1:29 PM:

" Really Rory, if Fargo is losing money, then they must also be losing money in Fergus Falls, Alexandria and the Cities. I never fill my tank when I head east, just enough to get me to Fargo and or beyond "

MINNESOTA GAL wrote on Oct 8, 2008 12:35 PM:

" It is very sad. I have been watching the prices for the past few months because my family recently moved to MN and I know that prices are much higher in ND (any where but Fargo area). We have been right beteen $2.95 and $3.08 for two weeks. Just think of how much money they make in those two weeks at +$.30/gallon. You wonder how people can be so greedy.
The great part is, you do not have to fill your tank as often as we have to here in the cities due to travel to work. (for the most part. I am sure some of you do travel just as much for work) Let's hope prices continue to fall. It was not that long ago that I was shocked at $2.00 gas. How does the price stay so low for so long and then all of the sudden the prices are out of this world? "

Sk wrote on Oct 8, 2008 12:05 PM:

" I thought SAMs gas was supposed to fix this disparity? "

Arrow68 wrote on Oct 8, 2008 9:01 AM:

" There will always be a bone to pick over the difference in gas prices in the eastern part of the state to the western part of the state. Dealers across the state pay the same amount for their gas that comes out of Minnesota. The cost to transport it is about 5 cents a gallon for every 100 miles. Fargo is more competitive with pricing because they have a few "mavericks" that are willing to keep prices down by selling their gas for less. Unfortunately, BIsmarck has two families that control gas prices; hence no competition so we can expect to pay 30 cents a gallon more in Bismarck for gas. Some things never change. "

Give me a break wrote on Oct 8, 2008 8:16 AM:

" Come on... "An 11-cent disparity in supplier pricing is keeping Bismarck's prices higher" Give me a break... You can go to any small town around Bismarck such as Steele, New Salem, Wilton, Linton etc and see that gas prices are lower there than in Bismarck. No way are the Bismarck stations going to be able to convince me that their supply is harder to receive and more expensive than these small towns. The problem in Bismarck is pure greed. I don't want to hear they they are not making any money on the stations. If they want us to believe that they should trade-in their hummers and escalades for hybrids. "

Jeff wrote on Oct 8, 2008 7:39 AM:

" Funny how Fargo and other parts of the US are below $3, but here in good old Bismarck we are still well over $3 "

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