“Drivers in Southern California should fill up now because gasoline prices are going up quickly and not coming back down for a while”, said Consumer Watchdog president Jamie Court.
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According to GasBuddy, gasoline prices are expected to rise 20-35 cents per gallon.
And that hikes prices even more.
The summer blend is to be in gas stations by April 1. Prices subsequently dropped at a quicker pace than expected as refiners then emptied their inventories of surplus winter blend, with California moving to the greener summer blend in the run-up to this summer’s driving season.
The average retail price of gas in the Sacramento area on Thursday was $2.12 a gallon, down almost 30 cents from last month and about 71 cents below the average one year ago.
Motorists have been enjoying considerably cheaper gas prices during the winter season because, “Refiners have quickly and aggressively been discounting winter gasoline in order to purge it ahead of the specification change mandated by CARB”, said Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick DeHaan.
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On February 22, AAA said that the national average for regular unleaded gasoline continues to hover at levels not seen since the Great Recession, largely due to abundant supplies and low crude oil costs.
