Yes, you should have filled up yesterday.
Gasoline prices in California shot up 8 cents per gallon Tuesday to an average of $5.883/gallon for regular unleaded, according to AAA. That’s 42 cents higher than one week ago and 60 cents more than one month ago.
In the Los Angeles-Long Beach area, the average is $5.96/gallon.
AAA says the spike in gas prices can be attributed to a range of issues including planned maintenance on refineries, a refinery fire, and Hurricane Ian.
If it was not for lower domestic demand, AAA says fuel prices would be even higher.
“Slack demand and lower oil prices should take some pressure off rising gas prices,” said AAA spokesperson Andrew Gross. “But Hurricane Ian could cause problems, depending on the storm’s track, by disrupting oil production in the Gulf of Mexico and impacting large coastal refineries.”
As usual, Californians are paying considerably more for gasoline than drivers in any other state. The national average is $3.747/gallon.