The BP gas station at 1434 E. Main St. ran out of regular-unleaded gasoline at 10 a.m. yesterday. The jump in sales was likely caused by fears of rising prices in coming days due to Hurricane Rita, said Sarbjit Singh, the station’s owner.

Such a shortage is rare, he said, but not unheard of in these circumstances. A 10 cent per gallon rise in price today did little to diminish the demand for fuel at the BP.

A fuel truck arrived at the station at 3:15 p.m. to refill the supply.

Prices are likely to rise more in the following days with Hurricane Rita disrupting oil platforms and shipping routes in the Gulf of Mexico – the second time in less than a month for the industry, according to CNN.

The hurricane is forecasted to hit Texas and is likely to cause another disruption in the nation’s oil supply.

Texas is the highest oil-producing state in the country.

– Derek Lenehan