Gas Prices Rise Again Overnight in California
Gary Kazanjian/Associated Press
Luis Cuevas changed the gas
prices at a station off California State Route 99 in Fresno, Calif., on
Friday. Gasoline prices in California rose again on Sunday.
By MICHAEL SCHWIRTZ
Published: October 7, 2012
Gasoline prices rose again in California on Sunday after a series of
refinery disruptions caused fuel shortages that experts say could
continue to burden motorists into next week.
The average price of regular gasoline in the state jumped to about $4.65
a gallon on Sunday, 84 cents higher than the national average and by
far the highest in the country, according to AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge
Report. Hawaii had the next highest average, at $4.41.
Prices have been rising for about a week and jumped by nearly 20 cents a
gallon, to $4.49, overnight Friday. Prices rose to $4.61 a gallon on
Saturday before climbing again on Sunday.
“I was here on Tuesday night and it was $3.99,” said Paul Tek, 42, an
employee at an Arco gas station in Long Beach that was selling regular
gas for $4.65 a gallon on Sunday. “The next morning I get up and drive
around and it was like, ‘What’s going on here?’ The prices keep going
up,” he said by telephone.
A power failure last week at an Exxon Mobil refinery in Torrance,
Calif., was the immediate cause of the spike, though the plant had
resumed normal operations by Friday. A Chevron refinery in Richmond,
Calif. is still operating at partial capacity after a fire in August.
The refinery problems come at a time of year when California typically
experiences some production shortages as refiners switch from summer to
fall gasoline blends to meet state pollution reduction measures.
Supplies on the West Coast have dipped to their lowest levels since
2008.
Because of the supply problems, rationing has forced some gas stations
to shut down pumps, and there have been long lines of cars at stations
that do have gas. Some stations have raised prices to as high as $5 a
gallon for regular gasoline.
Gasoline prices in California are typically higher than in most of the
country because of strict environmental regulations. Yet prices around
the country remain high. Sunday’s national average was $3.81 per gallon
of regular gasoline, about 42 cents more than a year ago.
Analysts from AAA have said the national average would probably decrease
somewhat through the fall and the beginning of winter, but would
probably remain high through the end of the year.
end quote from:
New York Times
Gasoline prices rose again in California on Sunday after a series of refinery disruptions caused fuel shortages …New York Times · 10 hours ago
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