{"id":485016,"date":"2026-10-04T18:32:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T18:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/485016\/"},"modified":"2026-10-04T18:32:11","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T18:32:11","slug":"california-gas-prices-near-record-high-is-relief-coming-this-fall-monterey-herald","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/485016\/","title":{"rendered":"California gas prices near record high. Is relief coming this fall? \u2013 Monterey Herald"},"content":{"rendered":"

California gas prices are approaching an all-time high, putting more pressure on drivers\u2019 budgets even as the state takes steps intended to provide relief.<\/p>\n

The statewide average for regular unleaded reached $6.40 a gallon Thursday, according to AAA \u2014 about 4 cents shy of the record set in June 2022 and the highest state average in the nation. The national average was $4.41, nearly $2 less.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nothing but a financial burden, man,\u201d 31-year-old Saleh Abdullah said as he pumped gas Wednesday at the Costco station, where regular unleaded was $5.89 a gallon.<\/p>\n

\"AAADiesel fuel averaged $8.38 a gallon in California on Thursday, about 5 cents shy of its record and 1 cent less than Wednesday. The national diesel average was about $6.40.<\/p>\n

Global conflicts, California\u2019s fuel requirements and constraints on refinery production have combined to push prices higher, said Severin Borenstein, a professor at UC Berkeley\u2019s Haas School of Business.<\/p>\n

The wars in Iran and Ukraine have disrupted oil supplies, while reductions in California\u2019s refining capacity have added to the state\u2019s supply pressures, Borenstein said. Taxes and environmental requirements also contribute to California\u2019s higher prices.<\/p>\n

Another major factor is the wholesale spot price \u2014 the price of gasoline available for immediate delivery, Borenstein said.<\/p>\n

\u201cCalifornia has a different blend of gas and its own supply issues that make the California wholesale spot price way more volatile that the rest of the country,\u201d Borenstein said. \u201cIt\u2019s usually 20 to 30 cents higher than the rest of the country. Right now, it\u2019s $1 more.\u201d<\/p>\n

For drivers, those increases are adding up.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the money I make is going to gas right now,\u201d 20-year-old Daniel Benitez said as he put $40 worth of gas into his truck Wednesday at a Chevron station in San Jose. Regular unleaded gas was $6.79 a gallon.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got to fill up everyday,\u201d he said. \u201cDepending on the car I use, I\u2019m using anywhere from like 50 to 70 bucks a day. I can\u2019t drive my nice cars no more, because there\u2019s too much gas (usage), and I have somewhat of a heavy foot. \u2026 Honestly, it\u2019s hard, but what can I do?\u201d<\/p>\n

Gasoline demand typically eases after the summer travel season, potentially giving drivers some relief. Doug Johnson, a spokesperson for AAA, said travel over the Memorial Day and Fourth of July holidays set records this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cTypically, this is when we see prices drop because demand drops,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cPeople won\u2019t be taking trips until Thanksgiving. So usually, in that situation, you see some relief.\u201d<\/p>\n

But fall also brings refinery maintenance, which can constrain supplies, Borenstein said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFall is always a difficult period. Lots of refineries get through the summer producing a lot of gas for the high summer demand. Then they do maintenance,\u201d he said. \u201cIf too many of them do their maintenance at the same time and we don\u2019t have a backfill of imports, we have a shortfall.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gov. Gavin Newsom has instructed state officials to allow a switch to lower-priced winter-blend gasoline a month earlier than normal. Winter-blend gas is typically about 10 to 30 cents a gallon cheaper than the summer blend, Johnson said.<\/p>\n

That change could ease prices, but it does not guarantee they will fall.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s already happened in Nevada and Arizona, \u201cJohnson said. \u201cPrices still went up there. They just didn\u2019t go up as much as with the summer blend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Borenstein said the earlier switch could help increase supplies.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s slightly more polluting if it\u2019s hot, so we generally don\u2019t use it in the summer,\u201d he said. \u201cIt evaporates more. But according to the petroleum industry people, it will increase the supply use, because it blends different components.\u201d<\/p>\n

California\u2019s average price for regular unleaded was $6.20 a gallon a week ago, $5.68 a month ago and $4.64 a year ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor regular Chevron gas, it would cost me anywhere from $230 to $240 for a full tank of gas, because I have a 33-gallon fuel tank on this truck,\u201d Fabian Lopez, 25, of San Jose, said as he pumped ethanol. \u201cIt definitely is alarming, considering that groceries can cost on average anywhere from $400 to $430 (per trip) for a family of three or four. \u2026 It\u2019s not a lot of money that people have.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"FabianFabian Lopez, of San Jose, gets gas Chevron on the corner of East Younger Avenue and North First Street in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

The costs also weigh on those delivering fuel.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am delivering 8,600 gallons of fuel,\u201d Francisco Rios said while sitting behind the wheel of a tanker truck at a Shell station in Concord, where regular unleaded was $6.59 a gallon and diesel was $8.99. \u201cThis truck takes 50 gallons a day to drive. Get the calculator out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TankTank truck driver Francisco Rios, of Sacramento, gets ready to leave after delivering 8,600 gallons of gas to a Shell station on Olivera Road near Port Chicago Highway in Concord, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (Jane Tyska\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

Abdullah, a shop owner in Concord, said he uses his 2002 Jeep Wrangler TJ instead of his diesel truck.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have three kids, and first I take them to school. Then I sometimes take my wife to work. I have more than one stop,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve got a new diesel truck in my driveway at home that I never use. It\u2019s out of control.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe price of gas a person got for almost six gallons at Chevron on the corner of East Younger Avenue and North First Street in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"California gas prices are approaching an all-time high, putting more pressure on drivers\u2019 budgets even as the state…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":485017,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[387,7,8,1471,383,643,457,19378,181,23,858,100,266,88,90,89,3234,1967],"class_list":["post-485016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose","tag-business","tag-california","tag-california-news","tag-central-coast","tag-economy","tag-environment","tag-gavin-newsom","tag-iran","tag-latest-headlines","tag-local-news","tag-monterey-county","tag-news","tag-northern-california","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-headlines","tag-san-jose-news","tag-santa-cruz-county","tag-transportation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=485016"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485016\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/485017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=485016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=485016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=485016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}