It's Unanimous! The Price of Gasoline in Geneva is $3.69 a Gallon—Up 38 Cents in Two Weeks

Again, I'm not saying there's collusion, but there certainly is agreement among different companies and brands about what the price of a gallon of gas ought to be.

Anecdotal evidence comes from this week's Gas Gauge, which is unanimous—all seven stations in Geneva—from six different parent companies—are selling a gallon of regular at $3.69.

I understand the logic. The local station owner has very little leeway—he or she is probably selling gas at the cheapest price possible because the money to be made is with the convenience store part of the business. The gas price just gets people in the door.

But my question is: Why is there no competition among the companies that sell gasoline? What happened to the model we were taught in high school and college, where competition helped set the price to the consumer?

If you know the answer to these questions, or have a good link to share, let us know in the comments field.

Now, on to the Gas Gauge. The average price of a gallon is—you guessed it—$3.69 a gallon! That's up 17 cents from last week's average, which was up 21 cents from the week prior. Which means—you guess it again—a 38-cent increase in the last two weeks.

Generally, I highlight the best prices in boldface—and I did again this week, even though it seems a little ludicrous. Any station you choose is the best ... and the worst.

If you want to know more about Illinois gas prices, check out gasbuddy.com or the U.S. Energy Information Administration home page.

* Cost of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline, not including the .9 cent kicker.