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Page added on March 1, 2013

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California gas prices peak; pump pain changes U.S. driving habits

California gas prices peak; pump pain changes U.S. driving habits thumbnail

California gasoline prices may have already peaked for the first half of the year and should head lower soon, analysts said.

Meanwhile, nationwide gasoline price averages over the first two months of the year rose at such a blistering rate that Americans were on pace to pay half a trillion dollars on gasoline in 2013 for the first time ever, analysts said.

The high prices were causing big changes in the driving habits of American motorists, with gasoline consumption dropping sharply.

And one result of the big decline in U.S. consumption was a record amount of gasoline exports by U.S. refineries, to Central and South America and even Singapore and Australia.

Overnight, the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in California was unchanged at $4.238, according to the AAAFuel Gauge Report, which uses averages collected by the Oil Price Information Service.

“Los Angeles wholesale gasoline prices and oil prices have taken a nose dive in the last week, along with gasoline futures, because fuel supplies have risen and refineries have increased production,” said Auto Club spokesperson Jeffrey Spring.

The price for CARBOB, for example, which is the unfinished blend of gasoline used in California, was running about $3.09 a gallon Thursday, down sharply from a peak of $3.447 earlier this month.

It’s considered unfinished because ethanol hasn’t been added at that stage, and the final retail prices, often about 65 cents to 75 cents a gallon higher, include various federal, state and local taxes.

“The average Los Angeles price is still higher than the average Honolulu price, but given that local retail prices have exceeded the typical 75-cent margin over wholesale for the past three weeks, there would appear to be plenty of room for prices to drop,” Spring said.

Patrick DeHaan, senior energy analyst for GasBuddy.com, said that gasoline supplies in California were also running more than 12% higher than last year, which should also move prices lower.

Americans paid more for gasoline in 2012 than ever before, said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for OPIS.

That’s partially why, in December, American drivers consumed 8.38 million barrels a day of gasoline, according to Energy Department statistics. While that remains a huge amount, it was 305,000 barrels a day less than the amount consumed in December 2011.

That was part of “a huge slide in U.S. demand for gasoline” that began “after Thanksgiving Day,” Kloza said.

U.S. refineries responded by exporting a record 590,000 barrels a day of gasoline to foreign customers, according to Energy Department statistics.

“Some of the destinations were predictable, with Mexico getting 219,000 barrels of gasoline a day,” Kloza said. “Central and South American countries dot the export spreadsheet, but leaping from the page are record purchases from Venezuela of 94,000 barrels a day.”

The U.S. was also exporting gasoline to Singapore, Japan and Australia, Kloza said.

Today, the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in the U.S. is $3.782, according to the Fuel Gauge Report. That beat the record for Feb. 28 of $3.731 that was set in 2011.

LA Times



7 Comments on "California gas prices peak; pump pain changes U.S. driving habits"

  1. Plantagenet on Fri, 1st Mar 2013 1:08 am 

    Whats the problem? All those folks in California should just shift to using electric cars.

  2. DC on Fri, 1st Mar 2013 3:32 am 

    The sooner amerikans start paying world prices for there oily fix, the better.

  3. BillT on Fri, 1st Mar 2013 4:33 am 

    I agree DC. The gas prices in the US should be approaching $10 not 4$. Then there wold be real contraction of the oil use and not fake numbers.

    What electric cars Planet? Have you seen any in your local auto dealer’s showroom? Looked at the price sticker on their window? Looked at YOUR ability to buy a $40k car?

  4. keith on Fri, 1st Mar 2013 5:10 am 

    Is the gas prices in California an attempt by big oil to have the citizenry of Cali. to give fracking a second look in their state? Is this the initial salvo by big oil to convince some Californians to sell their mineral rights. To convince the populace that fracking isn’t all that bad? Most energy used by the average person is wasted on bullshit. We don’t need fracking, just better management of the energy we already have. If we all did little things each day to save energy and adjusted to those changes as second nature. It would have a huge impact. Stop waiting for others to fix the problems. Start at home.

  5. Cloud9 on Fri, 1st Mar 2013 11:55 am 

    Price will do that for you. It’s called demand destruction.

  6. Kenz300 on Fri, 1st Mar 2013 7:21 pm 

    Every auto manufacturer either already offers an electric or hybrid car or is coming out with one this year.

    Electric vehicles are the future and all auto makers are producing them.

  7. actioncjackson on Fri, 1st Mar 2013 10:12 pm 

    This is directed at a guy named BC who likes to comment on this site but thinks peak oil is somewhat of a joke. Hope you read this article and are asking why the hell gas and oil prices are so high and have been for years now.

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