By Michelle Costa, Local News 8 Reporter
Lower gas prices are adding money to your pocket and it's helping gas stations.
They're seeing record profit margins since mid-September. According to the Oil Price Information Service, known as OPIS, retail gas prices have fallen 55%since mid-July.
Gas station owners are making more money with gas at $1.50 than they were at over $4 a gallon.
When the prices go up, the demand drops. With them down again, more people are driving and gas station owners are profiting.
The gas prices keep going down. At this gas station, they're lowering the prices two to three times a day.
Chat Willie owns a Chevron. He's seen sales up 15% from the summer.
"The gas sales have actually picked up a little bit from what they were this summer, which summer is usually your biggest time for sales, but this summer wasn't," said Chat Willie, Owner, Chevron.
With higher prices, you would think gas stations would rake in the cash, but, Willie said that's not true.
"At $4 a gallon, credit card companies charge you between 2 and 3 percent so you're paying 8 to 12 cents out per gallon and there's always the cost of gas wars in this area so you're lucky if you make four to five cents a gallon. So, technically, this summer we were losing right around six cents a gallon," said Willie.
Now, with prices tumbling, OPIS suggests credit card fees are around four cents a gallon and retailers are cutting their costs more gradually.
Not only are more people filling up, gas stations are noticing they're also using the money they've saved to buy more inside the stores.
"I hope it keeps going down. I think it helps the economy. Everybody gets out and spends a little more when gas is down," said Eddie Estes, Pocatello.
"It helps a lot. What used to cost me over $100 to fill up now costs me about $40 so it's a big help," said Ray Cardona, Pocatello.
"They're helping out a lot with the economy. Hopefully, they'll go even lower, but if not, I'm good where they're at," said Blake Barney, Pocatello.
"A little more people on the road. I drove to Utah everyday and traffic is thicker than it has been," said Kelly Hemmert, Truck Driver.
"Normally, my Chevron bill is about $800 a month, it went to about $1,800 a month and now I'm thinking it's back down to about $1,000 a month," said David Griffiths, Ogden, Utah.
Last week, The Pantry, one of the nation's largest gas retailers, posted a profit of $23 million in its fiscal fourth quarter. That's four times the profit of a year ago.
A spokesperson for Maverik said more people are filling their cars up. In the past, people were coming in with a certain amount of money, so their gallon per customer is up.
