ILLINOIS SUFFERS AT GAS PUMPS

OLIVE BRANCH, Ill. -- Illinois drivers headed to Missouri whiz past Raymond Snell's service station on Highway 3. If one does stop, it's only to buy enough gasoline to get to Cape Girardeau, where they fill up.

Fuel sales not only are slumping at Raymond Snell's place; they're down at other Illinois stations as well.

"Illinois service stations can't compete," Snell said. "Our sales here at the station are half what they were a year ago."

Snell said he is pumping 15,000 to 16,000 gallons of gas monthly, most of it to locals and nearby trucking companies.

While prices of gasoline always have been relatively higher in Illinois than in Missouri, the price disparity widened after Illinois imposed a 6-cent state sales tax that is being introduced in increments. And station operators said their sales drop as each increment goes into effect.

There also is a new 5-cent-a-gallon federal tax increase applicable to all sales.

"There is a 14.25 cent difference in taxes between Illinois and Missouri right now," Snell said. "Nobody is staying in the state to buy gas if they have a choice."

Snell has been associated with the Olive Branch station for 30 years. Fifteen years ago he bought it from former owner Don Stewart.

"I don't know what's going to happen," Snell said. "It will probably get worse. I may close the pumps, maybe this year."

He said provisional plans call for doing more service work and tire sales. He has two employees at the station.

On the other side of the Mississippi River bridge, fuel business is booming among service stations lining Morgan Oak street. Most say a majority of their customers originate from Southern Illinois.

"They are coming in from Ware, Thebes, McClure and Olive Branch," said Penny Oxford, a clerk at the Rhodes station at 407 Morgan Oak. She estimated 60 percent or more of the station's customers are from across the river.

Dealers say the price differential forces Illinois residents to buy gas in Missouri. They point out there are a number of service stations on the west side of the bridge and few along Highway 146 and Route 3 in Illinois.

According to an AAA Auto Club price survey, average gas prices in Illinois ranked second highest in the nation. The prices are exceeded only in Hawaii, where the cost of transporting the fuel to and among the islands is a factor.

In contrast, Missouri ranked lowest in the nation in fuel prices. At the time of the survey, the average price per gallon of self-serve regular-unleaded gas was $1.49.6 in Illinois, a substantial 21 cent difference to the Missouri average of $1.28.8.

Retail prices are climbing in Cape Girardeau. The price of unleaded-regular shot up 13 cents per gallon on Tuesday, to $1.24.9 at Cape Girardeau stations. Until Tuesday, the price was $1.11.9.

Crude oil prices increased as hopes for peace grew slimmer in the Persian Gulf. Crude oil prices again are over $30 a barrel after dropping in December to a level that was close to pre-invasion prices before Aug. 2.