Experts: California gas prices may remain high until November
SACRAMENTO - Gas prices rose again over Monday night, bringing California up just a few cents away from another record.
The average cost for gas rose three cents overnight adding up to $6.41 cents per gallon. Gas prices hit an all-time high in June, which was nearly $3 higher than the national average.
California's recent spike in gas prices is the result of several major oil refineries under mandatory maintenance. Several maintenance operations were planned and one was unexpected.
The refinery's closures led to little to no output of oil, which created a critical shortage of oil across the state.
In response, Governor Gavin Newsom recently ordered the state to lift restrictions on producing the cheaper winter blends of gasoline.
Severin Borenstein, professor at UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, says the move should help bring prices down.
"Switching to winter blends should provide a five to 10 percent increase in supply. That should be enough to bring prices down," Borenstein said.
It's unclear when it will be reflected in prices at the pump, however. Experts say it's also important to know that this recent spike in prices is different from the spike we saw earlier this summer.
"This occurrence of refinery maintenance in California is certainly the biggest impact here. And refinery maintenance is not permanent; maintenance is temporary," a spokesperson for AAA, John Treanor said.
The demand for oil is down nationally and internationally; however, experts say prices will remain the same or even worsen before they improve.
"I think we are in for some high prices throughout October, and we are probably not going to be completely done with this price spike until late in the month or early next month," Borenstein said.
