Gas prices have taken a mild jump in New Ulm over the past two weeks and it appears they will go higher in coming months.

Service station operators said they have increased their prices by one or two cents during the last two weeks.

Conrad Hilbert of Con’s Texaco said his supplier raised his price two cents, “but I just raised our price one cent. I absorbed the other cent.”

The price of full-service regular gas is 58.9 cents at Texaco now — about what most other stations are charging. Self-service is generally two cents less.

Hilbert said that by absorbing a penny of the increase, “we’re making less margin than ever before in history.”

Steve Fluegge of S and S Fluegge’s 66, said his price went up two cents Tuesday.

“We could have gone up before Memorial Day but we held up because of the competition here on the corner,” he said.

Fluegge neighbors are Derby and Erickson.

The Fluegges are getting in an 8,000-gallon load this morning “and I’m told there could be a three-cent increase on it,” Fluegge said.

Other service station operators also say they’ve heard rumors of more increases.

“It’s hard to say, but the way they’re talking, it sounds like it,”said Terry Johnson of Terry’s Mobil.

“There could be another couple of cents over the summer months; that’s the scuttlebutt.”

Gas prices at the Mobil station went up one cent more than a month ago and another cent last week. Regular is now 58.9 cents.

Brad Reinhart of the Clark Super 100 station,said regular is selling for 57.9 there now — the highest price the station has ever charged. The price went up two cents last week.

New Ulm Daily Journal

June 3, 1976