AAFES gas prices in Europe will be going up this weekend

www.stripes.osd.mil By Terry Boyd, Stars and StripesEuropean edition, Wednesday, January 29, 2003

Terry Boyd / S&S

Rising gas prices "might slow down the travel" around Germany in the family’s Jeep SUV, said Sgt. Scott Crum of Headquarters, Headquarters Co., 40th Engineering Battalion, as he gassed up Tuesday.

Terry Boyd / S&S

A German ESSO truck driver hooks up the hoses, ready to pump tens of thousands of liters of gas into the Baumholder shoppette's underground tanks.

BAUMHOLDER, Germany — Gas prices at AAFES pumps are on the way up again.

All grades of fuel across Europe will cost an average of 7 cents more per gallon beginning Feb. 1, according to an Army and Air Force Exchange Service news release.

In Germany, where the majority of U.S. military personnel in Europe are based, unleaded gas will increase to $1.61 per gallon from $1.53. Super unleaded will rise to $1.70 per gallon from $1.63, and super-plus will go to $1.80 from $1.72. Diesel will rise to $1.64 per gallon from $1.57.

If interviews with about a dozen Baumholder drivers are any indication, few consumers will notice.

As she filled up her mini-van at Baumholder’s Shoppette on Tuesday, civilian Kathy Madison said, “To tell you truth, I’d don’t even look at the [gas] prices.”

The only effect he foresees is that 7 cents more per gallon “might slow down the travel” around Germany in the family’s Jeep sport utility vehicle, said Sgt. Scott Crum, Headquarters, Headquarters Co., 40th Engineering Battalion.

A number of factors are forcing prices up, including possible market disruptions due to war with Iraq. In addition, striking oil workers in Venezuela and continuing cold weather on America’s East Coast are tightening oil supplies, according to the Lundberg Survey Inc., the Camarillo, Calif.-based newsletter that tracks petroleum industry trends.

The average weighted price for gas stateside, including all grades and taxes, was about $1.52 per gallon Friday, up from $1.50 on Jan. 10, according to the Lundberg Survey of 8,000 stations nationwide.

While prices at AAFES pumps are higher than those stateside, they’re a bargain compared to filling up on the economy.

Germans pay about four times as much for gasoline — about 1.03 Euro per liter, or about $4.50 per gallon.

Whatever the price, consumers are going to ante up, said Pfc. Joseph Grooms, Service Battery, 4th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery. “It’s a necessity,” he said. “You have to have it!”