Gas prices are on the rise nationwide, and people were surprised to see the price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline at over $7 in some parts of California last week.
Many American drivers have experienced the headache that comes with higher gas prices as inflation grips the nation and the price for a barrel of crude oil continues to climb.
The increased prices come as interest rates remain high from the Federal Reserve hikes earlier this year. The national average price for regular gasoline was $3.83 per gallon as of Tuesday, 11 cents higher per gallon than a year ago.
California had the highest average at $5.84 per gallon and Mississippi had the lowest at $3.26, according to a chart by the AAA. Following California, Nevada, Washington, Hawaii and Oregon also topped the list.
The prices are slightly lower than a week ago, when California residents took to social media to complain about the high prices and express their disbelief. TikTok user @princess.evian posted a video at a Mobil gas station in Los Angeles last Sunday where prices were reportedly $7.39 for a gallon of regular gasoline, much higher than the national average.
“LA is actually insane & evil tell me [why] do I choose to live here?!” the text in the video reads. In the video, the user can be heard asking “how anybody is supposed to live when gas is that much?”
As of Tuesday, the video has more than 800,000 views.
Newsweek has reached out to @princess.evian through TikTok for comment.
The post also gained traction on X, formerly Twitter, where @DC_Draino reposted it and blamed the situation on President Joe Biden.
“The *average* gas price has hit $5.92 in Los Angeles w/some stations well over $7 per gallon,” the user posted. “Biden drained our Strategic Petroleum Reserves to unprecedented levels to artificially suppress high gas prices as long as he could. Now the real prices are here.”
Getty
Prices also were high in San Diego. KUSI News shared a newscast to X last Monday in which they also blamed Biden for the high prices and claimed one Del Mar gas station was charging nearly $7 per gallon.
“When the United States was energy independent, gas prices were much lower than they are now,” the post said. “The Democrat led war on fossil fuels has resulted in a surge in prices at the pump. A Del Mar gas station is charging nearly $7/gallon.”
Although not as jaw-dropping as $7 per gallon, gas prices elsewhere in Los Angeles have caused residents to complain and newscasters to highlight the high prices.
“PAIN AT THE PUMP: No, it’s not your imagination—gas prices in the LA area jumped another 10 cents overnight. The average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gas in LA County is $6.03. #orangecounty is at $6.02. The highest recorded average price in LA was $6.49 in October 2022,” KFI AM 640 reporter Kris Adler posted on X.
As of Tuesday, the average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline in LA County was $6.14.
“Los Angeles has the highest gas prices in the United States and California is the highest priced state—by far!!!” X account L.A. in a Minute posted last Tuesday.
California is known for having higher gas prices than other states, as fossil fuels are taxed heavily to cut carbon emissions.
The increase in prices is partially attributed to high temperatures during the summer which interrupted production at some facilities. However, the surge in oil prices caused by cuts from Saudi Arabia and other Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries members is also being blamed for the higher prices.
“Oil costs are putting upward pressure on pump prices, but the rise is tempered by much lower demand,” said Andrew Gross, an AAA spokesperson, in a press release.