Gas Prices Surge as West Coast Switches to “Summer Gas”

(Undated) — The national average price of gasoline edged slightly higher last week. According to GasBuddy Head of Petroleum Analysis, Patrick De Haan, nine of the ten largest weekly price movements were increases, led by West Coast states as California begins the transition to summer gasoline. He says most states saw relatively minor fluctuations, but we’re now starting to see seasonal trends take hold on the West Coast, with those pressures expected to gradually push eastward in the weeks ahead. Even though oil prices slipped slightly last week amid reduced geopolitical risk, strengthening seasonal factors are likely to intensify, potentially driving the national average back above the $3-per-gallon mark, where prices could remain for at least part of the spring. The current national average is $2.92 a gallon, a seven-cent jump from yesterday.