The Selma Times-Journal

The pump read $76 after Chris Bailey filled his Chevy Silverado with regular gasoline at $3.35 per gallon on Monday.

Bailey, who works for a general contracting company in Bessemer, was passing through town on a service call when he stopped at the Valley Grande Kwikstop. He spends a lot of time on the road, and skipping a chance to fill the tank is not an option.

Despite a recent gas hike, the dependence on fuel has kept business at gas stations as steady as ever.

Prices across the city have risen as much as 6 cents from last week. The price of regular grade gas ranged from $3.39 to $3.59 on Monday and is predicted to rise even higher.

Jessie Wallace says he works full-time, but his wife suffers from ailments and has to see several physicians from Montgomery to Birmingham. The price of gas is putting a dent in their income.

According to a report by the Associated Press, oil prices came within a dollar of last week&8217;s record of $112.21 per barrel.

Though gas prices in the city have risen, the national average dropped a tenth of a cent to $3.373. That&8217;s just shy of a record high set Sunday, according to a survey by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service.

Tonte Johnson, the manager at Parkway Chevron, said she hasn&8217;t heard many customer complaints and has seen no decrease in customer traffic due to the price hike.

Reservations at Enterprise Rent-A-Car are up from last year, according to manager Jasher Cox. Most of those are because of business from local body shops, not out-of-town travel.

Dale McClendon, a manager at Clean Machine Rent-A-Car, reported that reservations are flat from last year. He attributed the stagnant sales to the price of gas.