Stunner
04-24-2006, 02:28 PM
“They're pawning anything they can just to get gas.”
Jeff Shepherd of Old Town Jewelry and Loan says he has seen more people coming in to pawn their stuff for gas money. He says four or five people each day come in for gas money.
So has Jay Johnston of Albuquerque Pawn Shop, who says many of his customers need just some gas money just to make it to pay day.
Gas prices are among the highest they’ve been in recent memory. The average gas price submitted to AlbuquerqueGasPrices.com is $2.90 – more than 70 cents higher than a year ago. The national average, according to AAA, is $2.88 a gallon.
Those prices have people pawning anything from tools to jewelry – even guns – to help fill the tank.
Part of the reason gas prices are spiking right now is because stations nationwide are being required to add ethanol to their gasoline to make them burn cleaner. That’s also reducing the supply as refineries make ethanol from corn.
And, of course, rising oil prices make gasoline more expensive. Just a $1 increase in the price of a barrel of crude oil means a 2.4-cent jump in pump prices.
But an energy consultant says the principle of supply and demand may offer some relief as demand softens. And a commodities analyst at AG Edwards and Sons says “a very small drop in demand” could have a big effect on prices.
Recent government and industry data show that America's consumption of gasoline is not rising as rapidly as it was this time last year.
Source: http://www.kobtv.com
Jeff Shepherd of Old Town Jewelry and Loan says he has seen more people coming in to pawn their stuff for gas money. He says four or five people each day come in for gas money.
So has Jay Johnston of Albuquerque Pawn Shop, who says many of his customers need just some gas money just to make it to pay day.
Gas prices are among the highest they’ve been in recent memory. The average gas price submitted to AlbuquerqueGasPrices.com is $2.90 – more than 70 cents higher than a year ago. The national average, according to AAA, is $2.88 a gallon.
Those prices have people pawning anything from tools to jewelry – even guns – to help fill the tank.
Part of the reason gas prices are spiking right now is because stations nationwide are being required to add ethanol to their gasoline to make them burn cleaner. That’s also reducing the supply as refineries make ethanol from corn.
And, of course, rising oil prices make gasoline more expensive. Just a $1 increase in the price of a barrel of crude oil means a 2.4-cent jump in pump prices.
But an energy consultant says the principle of supply and demand may offer some relief as demand softens. And a commodities analyst at AG Edwards and Sons says “a very small drop in demand” could have a big effect on prices.
Recent government and industry data show that America's consumption of gasoline is not rising as rapidly as it was this time last year.
Source: http://www.kobtv.com