Gas prices seem to have little logic, especially since Russia invaded Ukraine. Culprits? A combination of market forces, the 'mystery gas surcharge' and more.
You’re filling up your Toyota Camry at a gas station in Los Angeles County — home to six oil refineries that pump out more than a million barrels a day, nearly 60% of the refinery capacity in California. With so much oil so close to home, you might think gasoline would be pretty cheap.
In fact, lawmakers, consumer advocates and state investigators are looking into alleged price-fixing in California and what impact that illegal practice may have on the amount consumers pay for gas at some name-brand stations.are more mundane. Rapid shifts in the wholesale price stations pay for gas can have an impact, as their purchasing schedules fail to keep up, De Haan said.
“It’s been less than two weeks of sanctions on Russia … and gas prices are already increasing. How can that possibly be?” he said last week. “That’s because it’s all in anticipation of higher prices.” In April 2019, Gov. Gavin Newsom asked the California Energy Commission to look into the prices drivers pay at the pump. In May 2019, state officials said “market manipulation” could be to blame for inflated prices.that found that name-brand gas stations charge “higher prices for what appears to be the same product” and that “if competitors decide collectively to fix prices, this may be unlawful.”
As of Thursday, Borenstein said the average mystery gas surcharge in California was 48 cents. That’s 17 cents higher than the average mystery surcharge in 2021, but only 1 cent higher than the average surcharge for December.an average of $1.27 of each gallon of gas sold in California goes to taxes, fees and climate programs. Of that amount, 10 cents on average goes toward state and local sales taxes, the latter of which can vary widely, Greene said.
“If people were to shop around more and go to those off-brand stations,” he said, “it would put pressure on the branded stations to lower their price. But Californians seem less willing to do that.” In 2020, consumers also filed a string of lawsuits alleging price fixing and other improper activity by the two companies and a third, SK Trading International Co. Ltd., that were combined into a single class-action suit.Borenstein provided context on the increase in prices in his 2020 blog post.
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