OMAHA, Neb. -- A task force set up by Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning has found that gasoline prices in the state have not been unconscionably high since costs skyrocketed in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, reported WOWT-TV.
The higher gasoline prices in Nebraska from June 2004 to October 2005 were due primarily to an increase in the price of crude oil, the news outlet said, citing a report released Monday.
Retailers in Nebraska based their prices on what the market would bear, the report found.
There [image-nocss] is no specific Nebraska law prohibiting price gouging on gasoline, but charges can be brought under laws dealing with deceptive trade practices, WOWT said.
The price charged for gasoline last year in Nebraska did not rise to unjustifiable levels, said the AG.
Other state and federal studies looking at gasoline prices have found no violations of law and instead concluded that competitive markets affected by worldwide conditions determine the price at the pump, the task force said.
Nearly all of the price increases seen at gas stations across the state were due to higher wholesale prices, the report said. Retail prices rose faster nationwide than they did in Nebraska cities following hurricanes Katrina and Rita in September and October, it said.
The task force was led by Ernie Goss, a Creighton University economics professor. Assisting him were Creighton University business law professor Edward Morse and Eric Thompson, director of the Bureau of Business Research and an associate economics professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
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