Gas Protest Spikes Prices

The price at the pump just topped eight dollars a gallon at some gas stations in the northeast. Why?

FOX News Radio’s Jeff Monosso explains in this report:

Dozens of LUKOIL gas stations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania are jacking up prices to more than $8 bucks a gallon in protest.

Taha: “I pay 20 cents or 15 cents more than other dealers, same company pay in other locations.”

It’s called zone pricing. But Abdul Taha who owns a LUKOIL station in Englewood, New Jersey calls it unfair pricing practices.

Taha: “We want to pay the same price for LUKOIL dealers everywhere.”

And the same price LUKOIL competitors are paying. Taha says he’s getting a lot of customer support even though folks aren’t really buying the $8 dollar per gallon gas. Essentially stations protesting are out of business for the day.

Jeff Monosso, FOX News Radio.

READ a statement from LUKOIL North America on the protest:

“We have worked very hard in establishing LUKOIL as a premium brand in the U.S., and value our network of independent dealers.  We deeply regret that the NJGCA, a trade lobbyist, has apparently encouraged public misstatements and ill-conceived actions which harm consumers, rather than engage in constructive dialogue.  The NJGCA’s efforts appear aimed at zone pricing, a commercially reasonable practice used by gasoline marketers for many years, which is fully compliant with New Jersey statutes governing the sale of motor fuel.”

Click here to read more on this story from MyFOXNY.com