Here’s why gas prices are jumping in Sacramento

It’s spring time and that means gas prices are on the rise in California. Even your favorite “cheap” gas station has probably seen a surge in pricing over the past few weeks. 

The average price for a gallon in Sacramento is $5.54, about 10 cents higher than the statewide average and 29 cents higher than it was just a week ago.

AAA Northern California spokesperson John Treanor attributes the price hike to higher demand as the weather gets nicer and the return of the more expensive “summer blend” of gasoline.

“They need to make a cleaner burning form of gasoline, that's a more expensive thing for those refineries to make and those prices fall on the consumer,” he told CapRadio Insight host Vicki Gonzalez.

The change over to the summer blend also comes as crude oil prices remain high due to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

Treanor spoke with Gonzalez about what’s next for gas prices and what drivers can do.

Interview Highlights

How much have gas prices been increasing in California?

A month ago across the state we saw $4.87. So it's been a sharp increase of about 50 cents on the gallon across the state when we look back a little further back. 

Is this the same price that we were seeing a year ago this time?

So a year ago, we saw $4.88 a gallon, so where we were about a month ago. We saw this spring increase happen a little earlier across the country than we did last year. 

Can you explain why gas prices tend to rise during the spring and peak during the summer?

Spring is our favorite season for a lot of reasons, gas prices is not one of them. We see an increase seasonally around the springtime and there's a few reasons for that. 

One, demand is up. It is nicer weather, which gets a lot of us out of the house. Across the country, you see this demand for gasoline on the rise. 

In the state of California, one of the early adopters of the summer blend of gasoline. That's a more expensive form of gasoline. It's in the pumps right now. We've seen the increase happen. 

And then globally … the price of a barrel of crude oil is a little more than 50% of what you pay the pump. Now that price is in the mid-80s — about $85 a barrel — and that increases because of what's happening in Ukraine, what's happening in the Middle East, and those global oil prices can have a big impact on what you pay.

Why does California have higher prices? What are the other factors that contribute to this price increase?

California buys most of their oil, the majority of it, from the Middle East, so those global oil prices have a big impact. Environmental regulation is another large reason. California has stricter regulations on emissions than other states, they need to make a cleaner burning form of gasoline. That's a more expensive thing for those refineries to make and those prices fall on the consumer. 

Any tips you have for people that are planning their vacation whether by road or air?

Be smart, plan early and start to look for those prices, as they do fluctuate. We always say about two months before you plan is really the best time to buy an airline ticket. Go through a travel agent, they really know how to find the deals, how to make that money stretch. 

And also, under daily life, look for those gas prices. Download a gas price app, AAA has one. You could check [it] out before you leave your home, or before you leave your destination. You can find the cheapest gas prices around you because you know from driving around each gas station sets their own prices and you can find big swings there. Carpool when you can and if you're going out for a lot of different trips in one day, try to do it in one swing rather than going back and forth to your house.