It’s been almost four years since Californians saw the price for gasoline at $4 a gallon, which peaked at that price in the summer of 2014. According to some industry observers, that price may be back by Memorial Day. Californians already pay for highest-priced gasoline in the nation, which has been averaging at $3.30 a gallon. Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at Boston-based GasBuddy, a company that monitors fuel prices across the nation, believes that the average could climb by more than 10 percent due to the global oil markets increasing. In a phone interview with Bloomberg News in late January, DeHaan stated,
We are soon to be February and we are seeing the year’s lowest prices. The concern is that a year ahead will have a much higher floor than what we saw last year.
There has been an upward trend in gas prices, which are already 47 cents over the same time period last year in California, and that includes taxes. Since November, California motorists have been paying 12 cents more per gallon for gasoline and 20 cents more for diesel, due to additional state taxes on gasoline. One of the key factors driving gas prices higher globally are reduced supplies of oil, which has been occurring due to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries reducing oil production. However, the greatest indicator that gas prices will increase is the fact that seasonal demand dramatically affects oil and gas prices. Hopefully, the gas prices do not reach $4 a gallon.
