RENO, Nev. (KRNV & MyNews4.com) - After several days of staggering gas prices - a U.S. senator is calling for a federal investigation into if they should have ever been raised so high. Dianne Feinstein of California wrote to the Federal Trade Commission:
"Consumers are all too familiar with energy price spikes which cannot be explained by market fundamentals, and which turn out years later to have been the result of malicious and manipulative trading activity."
Even if stations are found to be price gouging, there's not much which can be done about it in the Silver State. A spokesperson for the Attorney General's office tells News 4 Nevada has no law making that business practice illegal.
News 4 found out more than 30 states have laws against price gouging, but locally several bills trying to do it have tanked before becoming law. One challenge to getting them passed has been that many economists say laws capping prices could create product shortages in times of emergency.
“There will be more people who want the product at that price then the suppliers could profitable bring it in to the market place of the area,”
