Gas Pump Sticker Shock; San Francisco Gas Prices Tops In The Nation
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF/AP) -- For those not working remotely, the cost of commuting in the San Francisco Bay Area continues to soar as the price of a gallon of gas has become more expensive than anywhere else in the country including Hawaii, according to Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey.
According to Lundberg, the average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline jumped 9 cents a gallon over the past three weeks to $2.35. Still the price is 30 cents less than it was a year ago.
While that is good news for commuters across the country, Lundberg has bad news for San Francisco commuters where the price of a gallon of regular unleaded gas was $3.40. That's the highest in the nation.
The lowest average was $1.90 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. While the average price of diesel spiked 7 cents over the past three weeks to $2.65.
According the CSAA, pump prices have increased despite gas demand falling to the lowest level recorded since the end of May 2020, according to the Energy Information Administration's latest weekly report.
Millions of Californians are still working from home as COVID-19 cases continue to soar across the state.
"Gas prices are rising as supply tightens and crude oil gets more expensive. Decreasing demand is outweighed by these other factors at the moment," said Jeanette Casselano McGee, AAA spokesperson, in a press release. "Last week crude oil pushed to the highest price since before the pandemic. If crude prices remain high, Americans can expect to pay more at the pump this month."
While the San Francisco prices were the highest nationally, the CSAA said California was not among the states seeing the highest jump in prices over the last week.
The top 10 were West Virginia (+17 cents), New Mexico (+11 cents), Florida (+10 cents), Kentucky (+9 cents), Tennessee (+9 cents), South Carolina (+9 cents), Arkansas (+8 cents), North Carolina (+8 cents), Missouri (+8 cents) and Ohio (+8 cents).
