SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline has fell for a 13th straight week, according to GasBuddy.com.
At $3.71 per gallon, the national average is more than $1.70 below the average cost of a single gallon in California. The GasBuddy website, which tracks nation-wide fuel prices, found price behaviors are drastically different from coast to coast.
“We continue to see the national average price of gasoline decline, now for the 13th straight week. But, we’re seeing drastically different price behaviors from coast to coast, with some areas seeing noticeable increases while others are seeing decreases,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “Refinery issues in California are leading to increases in areas supplied by the state’s refineries, including areas of Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and of course, California.”
The average price for a gallon of gas in California reached $5.40 on Monday, a 14 cent increase from last month and nearly one dollar more per gallon than a year ago, according to AAA.
Dr. Sanjay Varhsney, an economist and professor at California State University, Sacramento, said the record-setting heat wave was also a major factor since it sent energy prices soaring.
“Many of the refineries that basically operate in California are obviously subject to energy and the energy loads,” Varshney said. "So, not all the refineries were basically operating at full capacity.”
Four days of more than 100-degree temperatures across the state collided with the busy Labor Day holiday where prices and demand for fuel are already high, Varshney said.
“I think nationally you should see the prices drop toward the end of the year because all of the major ingredients, higher oil prices and higher gas prices that we saw the last few months, are going to slowly trail off,” he said.
States in the west which rely on California refineries are also being impacted, including Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, according to experts at GasBuddy.com.
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