CALIFORNIA, USA — Update:
Experts say relief is on the way for California gas prices.
Gas prices are now topping more than $6 per gallon for regular, but that might not be the case for much longer.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at Gas Buddy, said he expects wholesale gas prices to start dropping on the market as soon as Friday, with relief arriving in the next week.
"CALIFORNIA: If you do not need gasoline, wait to buy it. Relief will likely come in the days ahead. This should also put downward pressure on #gasprices in WA and OR, as well as AZ and NV," De Haan said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
He said the change comes after the California Air Resources Board issued a waiver allowing for the change to winter-blend gasoline earlier than usual.
Original Story:
Gas prices in California have been on the rise the past few weeks and experts say relief may not come for two weeks.
GasBuddy spokesperson Patrick De Haan said the West Coast is headed for a surge in gas prices and attributes multiple refinery outages in Southern California to recent price hikes in Northern California.
"That is putting pressure on other markets including Northern California because refineries in Northern California are now sending some of the gasoline that they are producing down to Southern California in light of the higher prices there. So that's starting to impact supply in Northern California. As a result, we are expecting gas prices across much of Northern California could jump 15-35 cents," De Haan said.
He said a notable price increase will be felt by the end of the week as many stations have or will pay for the higher-priced gas.
"I thought early last week we were going to get a little bit of a break, but now it worsened so just kind of underscore that this is a developing situation, I would tend to believe that in the next 10-14 days prices will peak and then we’ll start going down," De Haan said.
De Haan said the winter blend of gasoline typically rolls out in California on October 1, but it will help with prices because it is easier to produce this blend of gas.
"Your gas prices are about to jump. If you're in Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, or Arizona be prepared for gas prices to jump 15-35 cents per gallon in the next 5 days. Some stations could go up by even more, potentially 50c/gal," De Haan wrote in a tweet.
California is seeing an average price of $5.89, compared to a week ago when the average was $5.79, according to AAA.
Sacramento is seeing a similar upward trend with gas now reaching an average of more than $5.66 per gallon. The average price for a regular gallon of gas a week ago was around $5.55, according to AAA. A month ago the average was even lower at around $5.19.
Here's where to find some of the cheapest gas in your area.
Anyone who wants to save money while on the road can heed the following advice from AAA.
- Combine your errands into one trip
- Don't idle your car
- Go the speed limit
Watch more on ABC10: Suspected gas pump scheme caught on camera could see customers paying for someone else’s gas
