Gas Price Ponderings

I'm a confirmed believer in the Free Market as a mechanism for pricing and allocating resources, but the variation in gas prices across the state has even me wondering. I drove to the St. Louis area last weekend. Gas was $2.85 to $2.89 in Warrensburg before I left. At the same time it was about a nickel lower in nearby Sedalia. As I got within 60 miles of St. Louis, prices fell below $2.80. Along the I-44 strip from Eureka (6 Flags park) to their I-270 loop, prices ran from $2.69 all the way down to $2.64.

Frankly, I don't understand it. St. Louis has air quality restrictions that affect the blends and should make gas more expensive. Sure, there's more demand in areas with larger populations, but I doubt that the cost of supplying the gas to a station in Beaufort or Rosebud is that much less than the cost of supplying it to Warrensburg.

Perhaps someone who really understands gasoline marketing can comment on why we pay so much more than motorists in so many other areas of the state.

BW