In case you’ve been wondering about gas prices

Gas Prices March 17

Photo taken in San Francisco today, Saturday, March 17, 2007. It wasn’t the highest I saw. In one place premium was $3.699 a gallon.

9 thoughts on “In case you’ve been wondering about gas prices”

  1. That is just obscene. We moved to ABQ (last June) from Chicago. We were only here for two weeks and then went to California on vacation. At first, I didn’t notice the differences in gas prices because the gas in Chicago was comparable to California. I did notice it as soon as we got home. It was, as it is now, almost a dollar a gallon more in California.
    Now, why is that? Is it taxes? Tourism? Just ’cause they can?
    I never understand how the price of gas/barrel of oil works.
    I just know that it will put a huge damper on any travel plans I may be making.
    Yikes!

  2. The state tax for gasoline in California isn’t particularly high, but adding the state and local sales tax puts another 18-20 cents a gallon on the tab (i.e., 7.25% of $3). The biggest difference in price, however, is that California gasoline burns cleaner and costs more to make. I’ve seen plenty of days in Albuquerque with brown air hanging over the valley. Maybe we should be paying more for cleaner fuel (and driving less).

    The State of California operates its own reformulated gasoline program with more stringent requirements than Federally-mandated clean gasolines. In addition to the higher cost of cleaner fuel, there is a combined State and local sales and use tax of 7.25 percent on top of an 18.4 cent-per-gallon Federal excise tax and an 18.0 cent-per-gallon State excise tax. Refinery margins have also been higher due in large part to price volatility in the region.

    California prices are more variable than others because there are relatively few supply sources of its unique blend of gasoline outside the State. California refineries need to be running near their fullest capabilities in order to meet the State’s fuel demands.

    Energy Information Administration

  3. I’m not sure just where the station in the photo is, but I think there may also be the factor of San Francisco real estate. As I recall, there aren’t very many gas stations in the city. Property in the city is precious, and therefore quite expensive. That means it costs more to own and run a station in the city than some outlying place with cheaper land. Higher overhead means higher prices. Fewer stations also means higher demand, therefore they can command a higher price for their product. Am I wrong?

  4. Well, Ken, how do you explain that gas is cheaper out of metropolitan areas in CA? Drive down on Highway 1 (or north) and as soon as you’re 50 miles from the City the gas gets cheaper. It’s still California … strange, isn’t it? It should actually be harder to ship the gas to those locations, but still the gas is cheaper …

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