October typically brings cooler weather, fall festivals, and lower gas prices.  Motorist Becky Wilson says "it seemed like a few weeks ago it was down 20-cents on the gallon."

That was then.  Now, motorists find themselves window shopping from their cars again, looking to save every penny possible.  Gas Station owner Steve Ray says "right now its gone up what ten-cents in five-days. Have we used more gasoline? No."

Ray says forget supply and demand, iInstead, he says look back to last summer, when speculators drove-up the price of gas to nearly four-dollars a gallon.  "Goldman Sachs, they own more gasoline than anybody in the united states, now why does an investment firm own gasoline, more than anyone."

With the recession, bank and auto bailouts, and fear of higher taxes to pay for health care reform, climate change legislation, and locally, annexation... many motorists seem defeated by the prospect of another corporate cash grab at the pumps.  Denny Gustafson says "its kind of shocking, but what are you going to do, your stuck with it you don't have many choices."  Becky Wilson says "all we can do is just hope that it goes back down." And Becky McCuiston says "I hate it."

Ray fears if the government doesn't step in soon to push speculators out, the economy faces an even rougher road ahead.  "We're going to take one giant step backwards in the recovery that's going on right now."

Analysts blame a weak American dollar for making commodities, like oil, cheaper for foreign investors to buy.  The dollar continues to hover at 14-month lows, due to record-low interest rates.