California's gasoline prices just hit an all-time high on Wednesday, at $4.72 per gallon.
And some experts are suggesting that California could see prices shoot up to as much as $5 per gallon in just a matter of months-or even earlier.
California enjoys some of the highest gasoline prices in the nation.
Some have extrapolated these prices to projections for $5 or even $7 per gallon-nationally. But GasBuddy CEO Patrick De Haan has said that California's high gas prices are not indicative of the rest of the United States.
"There's a lot of noise and alarmists that care more about clicks then accuracy. Have heard calls for #gasprices nationally to hit $5, $6 or even $7. Maybe Cali could see $5 or $6, but we're a long way off from that becoming a national average folks," De Haan said on Wednesday afternoon.
Higher crude oil prices have given rise to high prices at the pump, causing a headache for President Biden. On Wednesday, the national average of a gallon of gasoline was $3.51. This is about $1 per gallon more than the same time last year.
President Joe Biden has issued a warning to American consumers. A Russian attack on Ukraine is still a "distinct possibility", and there could be economic consequences-particularly as it pertains to energy.
"I will not pretend this will be painless… We're preparing to deploy all the tools and authority at our disposal to provide relief at the gas pump," Biden told ABC news on Tuesday.
While California's gasoline prices are not indicative of the entire nation, national gasoline prices have risen at a faster rate than California's on a percentage basis.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
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Julianne Geiger is a veteran editor, writer and researcher for Oilprice.com, and a member of the Creative Professionals Networking Group. More