Gasoline Price

California gasoline prices plummeted over the last week, helping drive down the U.S. average by more than 12 cents a gallon. But Hurricane Sandy was expected to kick retail prices higher in the Eastern U.S. - at least briefly - as refineries there shut down or reduced production as the storm approached. The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in California on Monday was $4.169, down 26.3 cents compared with a week earlier, according to the Energy Department's survey of fuel prices.

The decline in California gasoline prices has accelerated in recent days, fuel surveys show, but hardly amounts to the relief from record fuel costs that most motorists would like to see. The state average reached $4.432 for a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline, the Energy Department said Monday. That was a decline of 19.1 cents in one week, according to the agency's survey of service stations. The week before, the average slipped less than 4 cents a gallon after reaching a record $4.659.

Gasoline prices in California are dribbling lower, with the average price slipping as much as a penny a day from record highs reached last week, fuel surveys show. "It's all rigged. They've got us over a barrel, literally," grumbled restaurant manager Jay Moss, who paid $4.99 a gallon Sunday at a Mobil station in Santa Monica. "It's down a little, but not much. I'm just tired of looking. " Although the slow pace of relief might be annoying to drivers, it's a familiar pattern to energy economists.

How can a power outage at a refinery spark $5-a-gallon gasoline at some L.A. stations? Why would the fact that California had to switch to the winter-blend fuel at the end of October - a fact known all year - raise gasoline prices to record levels? This price surge is not a freak phenomenon or the result of a convergence of refinery problems, as the oil industry has argued. It's happened before (only the $5 level is new) and will happen again and again because California oil companies can make more money by making less gasoline.

California's average gasoline price edged lower for the first time in more than a week, but analysts warned that any decline would be gradual partly because a section of the huge Chevron Corp. refinery in Northern California is expected to remain closed the rest of the year. Motorists in the state paid an average of $4.666 for a gallon of regular gasoline Wednesday, down half a cent overnight, according to AAA's daily survey of fuel prices. On Oct. 1, the day Exxon Mobil Corp.'s Torrance refinery went out of service temporarily because of a power outage, the average was $4.168.

For the fourth day in the row, California broke the state's record on gasoline prices, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report. The only good news, analysts said, was that the rise continued to lose momentum Tuesday. According to the AAA, the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in California reached $4.671. That was an increase of just 0.3 cent overnight. The AAA price averages use-sales receipts collected daily from more than 100,000 retail outlets. "It's not over yet," said fuel price specialist Bob van der Valk about the unusual surge that left gasoline prices 48.9 cents higher than they were a week ago. California had the highest prices for gas in the nation, by far. Second place went to Hawaii, whose average for a gallon of regular was 26.4 cents less.

Record gasoline prices got you down? Honda thinks it has a deal for you. Honda is offering a $3,000 debit card good at Clean Energy natural gas filling stations with the purchase of a 2012 model year Civic Natural Gas vehicle. That is about three years' worth of fuel for most drivers at today's natural gas prices. PHOTOS: The top 10 gas misers There are about 40 Clean Energy filling stations in Southern California and about 160 nationwide. Southern California Gas Co. and San Diego Gas and Electric Co. operate another dozen stations in the region, but the debit card isn't good at those facilities.

As California gasoline prices set fresh records daily, consumer advocates are gearing up to fight the sale of the low-cost Arco brand and its Carson refinery to a Texas company not known for its cheap fuel. Some experts are calling the proposed $2.5-billion sale to Tesoro Corp. of San Antonio the biggest shift in California's petroleum business in decades. Activists say the deal, announced in August, would reduce competition and possibly raise prices for motorists, and they will ask state and federal regulators to reject it. The transaction is drawing fire now - with California's average gasoline price at a record $4.671 a gallon Tuesday, according to AAA - because it would leave 51% of the state's refining capacity in the hands of just two companies: Tesoro and Chevron Corp.

Darn it, I missed out again. You know when the iPhone came out? Well, I didn't buy one. Same with the iPod and the iPad.   I also didn't buy a Mini Cooper when they were such hot sellers. And now I've missed the big gasoline price run-up in California. My habit of missing out, or being late to the party, goes way back, unfortunately.  When disco was all the rage, I liked oldies rock. I stuck with film cameras way too long. I don't have a smartphone. I still have a land line.

California's average gasoline price set another record Monday, but there were signs that the run-up may come to an end even before the cheaper winter blend of fuel reaches consumers. Analysts said wholesale fuel prices plunged Monday, a decline that should be reflected at the pump this week. But many Californians were still angry and bewildered about how state gasoline prices could have jumped 50 cents a gallon in one week when demand is weak and there was little proof of a shortage in fuel stocks.