GASOLINE PROFITS IN MISSOURI BALANCED BY REGULATIONS AND OTHER COSTS

Excessive -- but not illegal -- profit taking by oil companies contributed to high retail gasoline prices endured by Missouri consumers this summer, the Governor's Task Force on Gas Prices concluded last week.

Attorney General Jay Nixon, who chaired the panel, said prices could have soared even higher were it not for competition. The fact that competition exerted a limiting influence on prices shows the free-market system at work.

Other pressures faced by the petroleum industry could be playing a part in price fluctuations.

As industry officials have testified, no new refineries have been built in 30 years, and the total number in operation has been cut in half over the last two decades.

Also, federal and state environmental regulations require the production of more than 30 different formulations of fuel to meet varying local emission standards.

With production limited and different regions requiring different fuels, its easy to see how shortages that suddenly impact pump prices can occur. Or maybe it was time for more excessive -- but not illegal -- profit taking.