Getting Answers: Why is gas above $6 again?
FOLSOM — AAA reports Californians are paying over $6 for regular unleaded gas on average.
"Right, that happened overnight," said William Carmichael of Citrus Heights. "This is the cheapest place I've seen around here."
According to AAA, the price per gallon rose $0.15 overnight. The rest of the nation pays about $3.77 on average.
Experts say demand is low, and the price of oil dipped below $80 a barrel recently for the first time since January.
So, why are Californians paying two dollars more than the rest of the U. S.?
"Oil refineries are shut down for maintenance, and oil refineries are shut down for unplanned maintenance in California," said John Treanor, a AAA spokesperson. "Those California oil refineries and Washington oil refineries, they feed our gas pumps along the west."
AAA also said everywhere except California is already selling the winter-blend gas, which is slightly cheaper than the summer-blend.
The state said Sept. 30 is when half of California's gas stations begin selling the winter-blend gas.
While the price at the pump pinches your wallet, those inflation relief checks worth up to $1,050 may be on the way ahead of the midterm election.
"I think where they can give back, they should, but is it going to change as much I drive? Probably, not," said Michael Reynolds of Folsom.
"The bigger problem is the gas price," said Gary Dietrich, a CBS13 political analyst. "Not a check — not a one-time check from the government. People's decision right now — we know from all the polls, the economy number one, combined with inflation, number two and crime number three are the biggest issues polling nationally in all races."
Meanwhile, as Hurricane Ian batters Florida, it remains to be seen whether the storm will affect oil production and cause gas prices to jump further.