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Statewide gas prices continue to rise
Local consumers, managers receive brunt of steadily increasing prices
Aubra Whitten
Issue date: 11/13/07 Section: News
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The price of petroleum has increased significantly in Mississippi, and even Starkville's average gas price has risen by more than 16 cents from just one week ago.
On Sunday, the price of unleaded gas in Starkville ranged between $3.03 and $3.05. The same grade of fuel averaged at $3.05 in Columbus, and both Aberdeen and Oxford reported prices as high as $3.09 per gallon.
According to statistics on MissississippiGasPrices.com, the average price for unleaded gasoline in Mississippi that day was $3.024 per gallon, compared to the national average of $3.10 per gallon.
Further statistics from the Web site show that the price of gasoline has consistently risen during the past year. In Mississippi, unleaded gas averaged at $2.089 one year ago, $2.611 one month ago and $2.887 last week.
Charles Campbell, professor of finance and economics at Mississippi State, said there are several reasons for high gas prices, including the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Companies keeping the prices high, the monopoly power of oil companies and the crisis in the Middle East. He said countries need oil in order to continue development and run industries.
"There's a tremendous demand, primarily because there's economic development," Campbell said.
Finance and economics associate professor Ben Blair said another factor for rising prices is the weakening of the American dollar.
"One of the big things that's driving foreign oil up is the dollar declining in value in the international markets," Blair said.
He cites low interest rates on investments and uncertainty about the direction of the country's economy as reasons for the dollar's dwindling value.
"The threat of a recession will drive the dollar down even further," he said.
Campbell said another reason the dollar is weakening is due to the United States' growing national debt. He added that he does not expect gas prices to decrease anytime soon.
"There's going to be this continuous increase in demand," he said. "We would have to decrease demand [to get prices to drop]."
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