Fill Up Now! Gas Prices Could Skyrocket By Weekend

Gas prices are about to soar dramatically, possibly increasing by 20 cents a gallon by the weekend in the Bay Area, consumer advocates and an industry expert said today.

The increases are tied to the switch to summer-blend gasoline, which is designed to reduce pollution in warmer weather and costs more to produce. Wholesale prices for the Northern California region jumped 30 cents a gallon this week, from 88 cents to $1.18, because of the summer-blend issue, said Cody Rosenfield, a research analyst with Consumer Watchdog, a consumer advocacy organization.

“That doesn’t sound like a lot, but it’s going to keep going up,” Rosenfield said.

Consumer Watchdog held a news conference at its Santa Monica headquarters this morning to warn California motorists of the impending price spike.

“Consumer advocates will advise California drivers to take advantage of today’s gasoline prices because they will be gone by Friday and keep climbing for the foreseeable future,” a Consumer Watchdog statement said before the news conference, forecasting a possible 20-cent-per-gallon increase for the Bay Area.

“It’s true,” said Mary Montgomery of the Automobile Club of Southern California, adding that a distribution problem is also a factor.

The summer blend is to be in gas stations shortly. Consumer Watchdog said “fire-sale prices on remaining winter stocks” are now at an end.

The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in the San Francisco Bay Area is $2.50 per gallon. The national average is $1.72 per gallon, Rosenfield said.

According to Thursday’s warning, a return to the near-$3-range is imminent.

Also see:

• California Considers Lowering Gasoline Tax for 3rd Straight Year
• California Gas Prices Just Got Cheaper!

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--City News Service contributed to this report, photo via Shutterstock