Despite the fact that gasoline prices have been falling over the summer, they are still at record high levels for Labor Day weekend in California.
According to the Automobile Club of Southern California, Thursday’s average gas price was $5.25 per gallon. This is 5 cents less than one week ago. Last year’s record price for Labor Day weekend was $4.39 per gallon in California, and $4.40 in Los Angeles.
Prices for gasoline began to rise in spring 2020. The worst increases were seen in January 2021 due to the Russian war in Ukraine and the pandemic. Regular-grade gasoline prices at California service stations were over $7 per gallon before they began to fall at the beginning of summer.
Californians who own electric vehicles are encouraged to not charge them in the afternoon or early evening, ahead of the state’s ban in 2035 on new gas-powered vehicles. This is because of a Flex Alert issued by state energy regulators as a result of ongoing heatwave-related electricity shortages.
President Joe Biden claimed credit for lower gas prices by releasing oil from Strategic Petroleum Reserve and asking foreign countries to increase production (though some, such as Saudi Arabia, have seen their prices drop). The main factor behind lower prices is the rising expectations of a global recession, which has lowered oil demand on global markets.
