12/27/2024

Why California’s gasoline prices may spike to $4 a gallon by summer

California drivers could see the price of gas soar to $4 a gallon by May, a price point that hasn’t happened in the state since July 2014, analysts said this week.

Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at Boston-based GasBuddy, told Bloomberg on Thursday that with gas prices at their lowest for the year, they are still 47 cents higher than the same time last year.

That sets the stage for a sharp climb as California drivers price in two gas tax increases from 2017 and a rally in crude oil drives costs up.

“The concern is that a year ahead will have a much higher floor than what we saw last year,” DeHaan told Bloomberg. “We are 7 cents away from bridging that multi-year high in the U.S. It’s just a matter of time, in my opinion.”

 

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