Despite gas prices rising over the past weeks, retail gas stations are seeing their margins decrease, putting a strain on such businesses.
The national average price of regular gas, as of Oct. 5, was $3.831 per gallon, up $0.26 from the previous day, $0.66 from a week back, and $0.45 a month ago, according to data from American Automobile Association (AAA). In contrast, profit margins of gas stations have gone down.
“OPIS MarginPro shows retail gas margins are ~18cts/gal nationwide. That’s down 17cts/gal in a week; 25cts/gal in a mo.; and 54cts/gal lower than end 1Q 2022. When one considers operating costs (labor, credit card fees, etc.), many stores are under water,” noted Tom Kloza, an expert on North American fuel markets, a tweet. on Oct. 4.