According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), the gas price for regular fuel increased by 0.5 cents overnight, ticking up to 6.494 U.S. dollars a gallon, which is 38 cents higher than a week ago and about 2.1 dollars higher than one year ago.
On Wednesday, the average gas price in California is 6.425 dollars per gallon, and nationwide the price is 3.831 dollars.
The Los Angeles Times said in a report Wednesday that unlike the nationwide rise in gas prices over the summer, the most recent spike is mostly confined to California and the West Coast since several oil refineries were shut down.
"With gas prices continuing to surge on the West Coast and Great Lakes, the national average saw its second straight weekly rise," Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said in a blog posted online Monday. "But at the same time, areas of the Northeast and Gulf Coast have continued to see declines as the nation experiences sharp differences in trends between regions."
De Haan shrugged off any idea that the hiking pump price in California had connection with the decision of OPEC+ on Wednesday, which cut oil production by 2 million barrels per day to shore up prices despite U.S. pressure. He noted on Twitter that "refineries are the choke point."
He also predicted Wednesday that gas prices would fall in the West Coast, Great Lakes and other areas with the recent gas price surges, while they would increase in the East Coast, Southeast, South, Gulf and Northeast because of the OPEC+ decision.
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