Why $0.10/gal. difference?

Gus Philpott
The Woodstock Advocate
June 1, 2010

Ever wonder why gas prices vary from town to nearby town?

For example, today the price of regular gas in Marengo was $2.779/gal. This was at the Road Ranger station on U.S. 20 on the east end of town.

Back in Woodstock? $2.859, $2.899 and $2.939 per gallon.

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Ever visit www.gasbuddy.com/? There you can not only check on local gas prices, you can enter them yourself (and help others).

Is it just "market" or free trade that governs gas prices? You'd like to think so. But, then, why are the gas prices of all stations in a town within a few pennies of one another?