The average cost of a gallon of gas in California reached $5.82 on Monday, with regions like Los Angeles-Long Beach, Orange County, San Diego, San Luis Obispo-Atascadero-Paso Robles, and Ventura County surpassing $6 a gallon.
Supply cuts in Russia and Saudi Arabia, combined with flooding in Lybia, have led to a surge in global prices. But as usual, California is in a much worse position than the rest of the nation, which is averaging $3.84 a gallon.
Outages at some Southern California refineries have worsened the state’s supply crunch, according to Auto Club senior public affairs specialist Anlleyn Venegas.
“It’s killing me!” one Southland resident named Allan told KTLA. “Gas prices, insurance in California, now the customer can’t buy insurance,” he said, referring to the slow collapse of California’s homeowners insurance market.
Allan has a point. High taxation, carbon management, and special blends put California “in a league of its own,” said Gas Buddy’s Patrick De Haan.
Experts expect prices to cool down slightly by the end of the month as more oil shipments come through.
Visit AAA for the latest information on gas prices.