California drivers are feeling the squeeze again as gas prices in Los Angeles rose for an 11th consecutive day, adding fresh pressure at the pump.
Across the state, the average price climbed from $5.58 on August 19 to $5.66 on Saturday, leaving California with the highest fuel costs in the country.
The surge has been tied to California’s oil-related policies as well as tensions connected to the Iran war. “Due to continued volatility in the Strait of Hormuz, crude oil prices remain in the $80 per barrel range,” AAA said in an update Thursday.
Nationwide, the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline stood at $4.08 on Saturday. That figure was slightly lower than a month earlier but still more than 80 cents above the price drivers were paying a year ago, with analysts largely blaming elevated oil prices for the stubbornly high gas costs.
READ MORE: USC License Plate Could Fetch $675,000 in Record Sale
“Oil prices jumped to over $90 a barrel late last week but have since backed off slightly,” Kandace Redd, senior public affairs specialist for the Automobile Club of Southern California, said in a statement released Thursday.
“Continued instability in oil supply has kept prices above $4 a gallon nationally all this month, while California, Washington and Hawaii have had average prices above $5 a gallon every day in August,” Redd added.
In the Los Angeles area, gas prices have moved even higher. The average reached $5.73 on Saturday after rising every day for 11 straight days.
President Donald Trump is expected to meet with oil refining executives next week to discuss ways to bring down gas prices and strengthen domestic fuel refining capacity, Bloomberg reported.
