The price of oil fell sharply Monday to close below $100 -- a first since early March -- reflecting the gloom in financial markets and a sense of relief that key energy facilities weren't heavily damaged by Hurricane Ike.
The twin forces pushed light, sweet crude for October delivery as low as $94.13 a barrel Monday before ending the session at $95.71, down $5.47. Oil prices fell further in after-hours electronic trading to $93.71 a barrel; several analysts predicted more drops to come.
Retail gasoline prices kept moving in the other direction, though, as widespread power outages prevented Gulf Coast refineries from producing the gasoline and diesel that normally travels by pipeline to markets as far away as Minnesota, Indiana and New Jersey.
The Energy Department's weekly survey found a 19-cent jump in the nationwide average cost for self-serve regular to $3.835 a gallon on Monday. The American Automobile Assn., which publishes daily changes in gas prices, said the U.S. average rose 16.7 cents since Friday to $3.842 a gallon.
The disconnect between oil prices and gasoline costs irritated some motorists -- especially those who watched fuel prices jump 30 to 60 cents in places untouched by Ike.
In Alabama, Len L. Hardin Sr., a 54-year-old retired and disabled aircraft mechanic, said he could barely discern Ike's passage north from normal weather patterns outside his home in Graysville, 12 miles northwest of Birmingham. That is, not until he watched a local gas station change its price for a gallon of regular gas from $3.49 last week to $4.65 on Monday. It was no fluke. Another outlet was charging $5.05 a gallon.
"It's gouging," Hardin said. "It's not the station's fault. They said the suppliers told them what price to put up. I'm just hoping these people will be prosecuted, but that remains to be seen.
"There's not much I can do about it, so I'm just going to sit right here," he said. "Unless it's a doctor's appointment, I'm not going anywhere."
Florida Atty. Gen. Bill McCollum said Monday that he would issue subpoenas to fuel retailers Flying J, Dodge's Gas Stores, Valero Energy and Pilot Travel Centers seeking documentation of the prices they paid for gasoline. McCollum said his office received more than 350 complaints about gas prices over a four-day period.
"Passing along a justifiable increase in cost to consumers is legal, but we will not tolerate gouging for greed," he said.
