Toppling Gas Prices

www.ktre.com 03/20/03 - East Texas Story By Wade Cameron

Gas prices have soared for months, causing many Americans to cut down on their travel. It has also forced people to spend less elsewhere to offset the price hikes, but with the advancement of military action on Iraq, oil prices have begun to soften. This is a trend many in the oil business hope will continue.

"We're in hopes that this will be quick and that President Bush is able to stick with his projections so hopefully gas prices will recover quicker than they did after the Gulf War," said Carl Ray Polk, Jr. of Polk Oil Company, Inc.

The tension leading up to war with Iraq isn't the only thing that has held oil prices up. A labor strike in Venezuela has also hurt us here in the US.

"Most people don't realize that most of the oil refined on the Gulf Coast is from Venezuela," said Polk. "So that's had a tremendous impact on us."

Polk says if the war ends quickly, it could have an impact on gas prices as quickly as four to six weeks after the war ends, but he says it's tough to say how much relief that could offer.

"It's literally like looking in a crystal ball or predicting the stock market. We have done everything that we can do for the customer to make it less painful on them. We don't like these price increases anymore than they do," said Polk.

For now, he will watch and wait with the rest of the world to see what impact the war will actually have.