CA Average Gas Price Sees Small Rise; Relief Could Be Coming

CALIFORNIA — Gas prices in California continued to inch up over the weekend, creeping closer to the $6 mark for regular gas. But prices made their smallest increase in weeks on Sunday, rising by one cent, according to AAA.

While the small increase — from $5.73 to $5.74 — doesn't necessary signal to an end to rising costs, relief could be in sight, according to GasBuddy's Patrick De Haan.

"RELIEF? For now, average #gasprices should start slowing noticeably over the next 2-4 days-they may stabilize, and some areas may see small drops. But the situation remains fluid, so it could change quickly. But good news," De Haan tweeted on Friday.

De Haan's forecast was affirmed Sunday with the small increase, but prices were still staggering for Golden Staters, who are paying more for gas than anywhere else in the nation.

Nationwide, the highest average price for regular-grade gas was in the San Francisco Bay Area on Sunday, at $5.79 per gallon. The lowest average is in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at $3.80 per gallon.

The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline shot up a whopping 79 cents over the past two weeks to a record-setting $4.43 per gallon.

Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey said Sunday the new price exceeds by 32 cents the prior all-time high of $4.11 set in July 2008.

The price at the pump is $1.54 higher than it was a year ago.

Gas prices are likely to remain high in the short term as crude oil costs soar amid global supply concerns following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Lundberg said.

According to the survey, the average price of diesel also spiked, up $1.18 over two weeks, to $5.20 a gallon. Diesel costs $2.11 more than it did one year ago.

As prices remain elevated in California, motorists could soon start turning to public transportation to avoid pain at the pump, according to media reports.

Alicia Trost, a BART spokesperson, told The Mercury News that she's seen a 15 to 20 percent surge in riders in San Francisco at the Embarcadero and Montgomery stations in downtown.

"You couldn’t time historic high gas prices and offices reopening any better for transit recovery," she told the newspaper. "It's a pivotal moment."

California-based Uber has also added a surcharge on fares in the U.S. in response to rising fuel costs. Riders will pay $0.45 to $0.55 per trip. Increases also apply to Uber Eats, CNBC reported.

"While earnings on our platform remain elevated compared to historical trends, the recent spike in gas prices has affected rideshare and delivery drivers. To help reduce the burden, we are rolling out a temporary fuel surcharge," Liza Winship, Uber’s Head of Driver Operations, wrote in a blog post.

In his annual state address, Gov. Gavin Newsom said he wants help Californians offset the cost of skyrocketing fuel prices with a tax rebate.

The Democratic governor said that he plans to submit a revised budget to the state Legislature to "put money back in Californians' pockets to address rising gas prices."

Newsom offered sparse details about the proposed rebate, but officials from his administration said it could pay out billions of dollars in relief and be accessible to California drivers with a vehicle registered in the state, CalMatters reported.

His announcement came down the same day President Joe Biden announced a ban on Russian oil imports to the United States in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

"This is a step that we're taking to inflict further pain on [Russian President Vladimir] Putin," Biden said Tuesday morning. "But there will be cost as well here in the United States."

READ MORE: Russian Oil Ban: What It Could Mean For Gas Prices In CA

Thanks to inflation, California's fuel prices were already climbing to unseen levels long before Russian forces set foot in Ukraine — but prices have continued to spiral since the war erupted.

To address inflated prices, Newsom in January proposed a gas tax holiday, which would suspend an increase to California's gas tax increase in July — but legislators on both sides of the political divide have expressed the need to do more.

"A gas tax rebate in July will do exactly nothing for drivers who are currently struggling with the highest gas prices in history, being forced to choose between driving their kids to school or putting food on the table," said Assembly Leader James Gallagher (R-Yuba City), according to CalMatters.

Last week, Newsom also tied California's rising gas prices to his agenda for the state to move away from fossil fuels.

"At a time when we've been heating up and burning up, one thing we cannot do is repeat the mistakes of the past by embracing polluters — drilling even more oil, which only leads to even more extreme weather, more extreme drought, more wildfire," Newsom said. "We need to be fighting polluters, not bolstering them. And in so doing, freeing us once and for all from the grasp of petro-dictators."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.