Flooding Driving Up Gas Prices

Flooding along the Mississippi River is driving up gas prices over fears that refineries could become inundated in coming weeks, especially as the deluge heads downriver for Louisiana.

"When we've had flood waters in this part of Louisiana before, it has closed up to 12 refineries," said Peter Beutel, analyst with energy risk management firm Cameron Hanover, referring to the impact of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. "The fear here is that we could see refineries close again."


The nationwide average price for unleaded gasoline climbed 1.1 cents to $3.962 per gallon on Wednesday, according to motorist group AAA, reversing the downward trend of the previous five days.

Floods drives up gas prices