Missouri Gasoline Retailers Stop Selling Ethanol Blends

First posted on 12-01-2008

Missouri gasoline prices plummeted to the lowest in the nation last week as retailers sold straight gasoline instead of ethanol blends.

Prior to the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, gas prices were reported to be as low as $1.33 a gallon in parts of Kansas City. The national average during that same period was $1.89 a gallon.

Ethanol blends are used as a means of reducing emissions from automobiles by making the blend burn cleaner than straight gasoline. A number of states, including Missouri, mandate the use of ethanol blends.

However, Missouri law allows retailers to opt out of the mandate if wholesale prices of ethanol blends is more expensive than plain gasoline. As oil and gasoline prices have fallen, ethanol blends became a less attractive option for most retailers across the state.