Valerie Glynn frequently stops at her local Shell station on the corner of Churchville Road and Brierhill Drive just outside Bel Air. But, like many other drivers, not for gas.
The station has the most expensive regular gas reported in the area at $4.16 per gallon Tuesday, according to BaltimoreGasPrices.com, which tracks prices around Baltimore.
“Is it high here?” she asked, craning her neck to look for the price. “It?s $3.95 up the street.”
The metro area?s average price has slid back below $4 per gallon, and the national average retreated to $4.05 on Tuesday, but prices are still high at a handful of local gas stations ? and as much as 30 cents lower elsewhere.
Many gas stations duel with nearby competitors ? cutting prices a cent or two lower than rivals. But independently owned stations must buy their gas from the supplier whose name they operate under ? Shell or Exxon, for example.
They?re charged by those companies based on the price they charge drivers, leading to differences among stations operating under the same brand name.
“[Large oil companies] gather data about every gallon sold. They know who buys how much gas where,” said Byron King, an oil and gas expert with Baltimore-based Agora Financial.
The margins for most stations run between 8 to 10 cents per gallon. Most stations make profits off the food and merchandise they sell, not gas or diesel, said Justin Paruchi, an oil and gas expert with Chicago-based investment research firm Morningstar.
The price of gas can vary even at a single gas station. Some small stations have begun charging one price for those paying in cash and another for those paying by credit.
Credit card companies can gobble up large chunks of gas stations? already slim margins, as much as 7 or 8 cents, most of which is passed on to credit buyers.
“That?s certainly what we?re seeing more and more, is gas stations offering two different prices,” said Chris Lafakis, associate economist with Moody?s Economy.com. “We might see more of that if gas prices remain up here.”
In addition to the Bel Air Shell station, the highest area prices include the BP on East Mount Royal Avenue in Baltimore and the Exxon on Montgomery Road in Elkridge, both of which charge $4.15 per gallon, according to the Web site. The lowest prices fall around $3.87 per gallon.
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