Even the independent owners are raising prices, he said. Jim Pumphrey, manager of Jock's Exxon Station in Leesburg, said his wholesale price increased 15 cents in the last two days. There's every indication it's going to go up. Escalating prices are another blow to consumers already hard hit by the economy's slowdown, said Mark Cooper, director of research for the Consumer Federation of America, based in Washington. Obviously, driving is not discretionary, especially around here.
People have to drive to work.
We don't have a lot of spiffy mass transit. That peak followed a 30-cent per gallon hike between February and June 2000. Myra Wieman, manager of public affairs for the Maryland division of AAA Mid-Atlantic, said it's too early to speculate how high prices could go in this region. Prices are rising with the approach of Memorial Day, usually the forerunner of the summer driving season. She could not say how higher gas prices would affect travel, particularly given the cooled-off economy.