California Gasoline Prices Reach Highest In History

Gasoline prices in California have reached fever pitch, hitting their highest prices ever recorded, according to data from Gas Buddy.

Average prices hit $4.68 per gallon today in California, beating out previous records set in 2008 and 2012.

Gasoline prices in the United States have continued to climb as stockpiles of the fuel continue to dwindle. Gasoline inventories in the United States fell 1.6 million barrels this week, according to EIA data, to 212.7 million barrels, which is 4% below the five-year average.

Soaring gasoline prices have put immense pressure on the Biden Administration, who have promised to make high prices a priority. One of the tools that the White House may consider to alleviate rising crude oil and gasoline costs is a release from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Industry analysts, however, have suggested that releasing millions of barrels from the SPR would do little to bring down the price of gasoline at the pump.

But a SPR release is only one of the tools that the White House is considering. According to U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, President Biden could make an announcement on how the Administration will address soaring prices as early as this week.

It is unknown what other tools the Administration is considering, but President Biden said that he was dealing with other countries on the matter.

 “He’s certainly looking at what options he has in the limited range of tools a president might have to address the cost of gasoline at the pump, because it is a global market,” Granholm said earlier this week.

The national average price of a gallon of gas on Thursday was $3.417 per gallon, according to AAA data. 

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

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