Gasoline Pump Prices Up 4 Cents in Week

The average price of gasoline surged nearly 4 cents a gallon in California last week, hitting the highest level in more than a decade when adjusted for inflation.

California motorists paid slightly more than $1.62, on average, for a gallon of self-serve regular unleaded gasoline, the California Energy Commission said Monday in its weekly report. The week before, gasoline averaged nearly $1.59 per gallon statewide.

When adjusted for inflation, that $1.62 becomes about $1.56, which is the highest inflation-adjusted price since 1985, when gas sold for an adjusted price of $1.60 (although the actual average price at the pump that year, not adjusted for inflation, was $1.12).

The national retail price for unleaded gasoline increased 2.2 cents in the last week to an average $1.14 a gallon, according to the Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the Energy Department.

That average price and the California Energy Commission numbers are based on a nationwide survey of 800 gas stations.

In the last month, the average price of gasoline has jumped by about 16 cents a gallon nationwide, primarily because of higher oil prices and refinery problems in California, according to the EIA. The average price in California has risen more than 50 cents a gallon since late February, when a series of unrelated refinery mishaps began.

Higher prices are prompting calls for a gasoline boycott on April 30--dubbed “The Great Gas Out”--fueled by rapid-fire Internet messaging during the last two weeks.

A year ago, gasoline was 11 cents cheaper a gallon nationwide and 51 cents cheaper in California.

However, the price of gasoline has begun to decline on the spot market, and analysts predict that retail prices will soon follow.