$5 gas

The price has gone up more than a dollar in 24 hours.

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Gas Prices Jump Overnight In Midstate

Posted: Sep 12, 2008 05:53 PM

WINCHESTER, Tenn. - Hurricane Ike is expected to make landfall along the Gulf Coast early on Saturday morning.

On Friday, it bore down on oil refineries and caused spikes in gas prices in parts of the United States.

Consumers in Middle Tennessee are finding some stations selling gas for more than $5 a gallon.

Steve Heath, a station owner in Winchester, said that he isn't committing price gouging. He said he is paying high prices himself because of the speculator market. He said the price spike is influenced by tensions surrounding the storm's impact on the refineries.

Drivers were in disbelief when they arrived to gas up at Heath Oil and Tire Friday because prices jumped overnight from under $4 a gallon to $5.29.

Nearby stations sold gasoline at normal prices, but some ran out of gasoline.

"I don't know how person is going to survive this," Heath said. "This caught a lot of people off guard."

"I was like, ‘You've got to be kidding me,'" said one motorist.

"I've been fussed at this morning over the price and whatnot and there are some options out here," said another station owner. "People have been able to receive fuel for less than what we paid or already had some. As you should expect that got it cheaper and all. Like I say, I am just hoping for my community right now that this price doesn't stay like this. And we can react in the opposite way."

A spokesperson for the American Automobile Association said it is likely that consumers may have to pay more than $5 gasoline in the near future and witness shortages and outages over the next two weeks.

To report suspected gas gouging, call the Division of Consumer Affairs at 1-800-342-8385.