Energy

Gas Prices Near $3 in California Cities

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: November 29, 2016 9:10 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 5:21 pm

The tug-of-war over oil prices has continued. Rumors have it Russia will not cooperate with OPEC as it discusses production caps. Saudi Arabia may not attend upcoming meetings at all. Oil trades at $46 a barrel, but the lack of a broad agreement on production could press the price toward $49. That would be welcome relief for some large California cities, where the average price for a gallon of gasoline is nearly $3.

According to GasBuddy, the large city with the highest priced gas is San Francisco, where it is over $2.80. In Santa Barbara it is $2.75. In Ventura the price is $2.74, and in San Diego it is $2.73. In Los Angeles it is $2.72, while in Orange County, $2.71. The effect of these prices on the consumer population is outsized since the number of people who live in these cities and counties numbers well into the millions.

California has the second highest average price of regular among all states at $2.67 a gallon, behind Hawaii at $2.81

Part of the high price of gas in California is high state taxes and levies. According to the American Petroleum Institute, California’s are $0.5659 a gallon. That is seventh highest among all states. The national average is $0.4886.

There is some good news for drivers in the state. Prices have fallen recently. According to the Los Angeles Daily News:

The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County dropped Thursday to its lowest amount on Thanksgiving since 2008, $2.737.

The average price has dropped for 17 consecutive days and 19 of 20, decreasing 16.4 cents, including eight-tenths of a cent today, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service.

If big oil-producing nations cooperate, they will go lower.