Gasoline Prices

California's streak of seven straight weeks of gasoline price declines has ended because of widespread refinery maintenance shutdowns that have reduced fuel supplies by nearly a third compared with a year ago. In California, the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline was $4.213 a gallon, up 2.7 cents from a week earlier, according to the Energy Department's weekly survey of service stations, released Monday. The U.S. average continued to fall, dropping 4 cents to $3.790 a gallon, the Energy Department survey showed.

California's strict low-carbon fuel standard could help reduce gasoline prices in the state, the opposite of what many have predicted, by encouraging the use of a relatively cheap and relatively clean U.S. crude oil, some experts now say. The standard will require fuel producers -- like refineries -- to lower the carbon intensity of the products they sell here by 10% by 2010 in less than seven years. To comply, California refineries might also have to stop using some of the crude oil they use now. That includes some oil that comes from California that is considered too dirty, from a carbon intensity standpoint.

Pump prices edged lower nationally and in California over the last week, the Energy Department said Monday, and analysts were predicting the trend would hold in the near term despite a strong day for oil futures. The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline fell another 2 cents in California to $2.961, according to the Energy Department's weekly survey of filling stations. Analysts said the state's numbers should continue to fall because the wholesale trading price for the unfinished fuel that is blended into the state's gasoline was running at $2.01 a gallon.

Experts are saying American drivers, including Californians, can expect some of the lowest summer gasoline prices they have seen in three years. Some are predicting a steady decline in California gasoline prices to as low as $3.84 a gallon by August. This year, the Energy Department is expecting a national summertime average of about $3.63 for a gallon of regular gasoline. That would be the lowest in three years, down six cents from $3.69 a gallon a year ago and off 8 cents from the $3.71 average in 2011.

U.S. motorists have seen the national average for regular gasoline rise above $3.50 a gallon in just three different years, but it has never happened this early. The national average hit $3.523 a gallon, the Energy Department said Monday, up 4.1 cents from a week earlier. Analysts said the early price shocker is probably a sign that pain at the pump will rise to some of the highest levels ever this year. "This definitely sets the stage, potentially, for much higher prices later this year," said Brian L. Milne, refined-fuels editor for Telvent DTN, a commodity information services firm.

Crude oil futures prices rose sharply in brisk trading Wednesday, a reaction to tight inventories reported by the American Petroleum Institute. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, the July contract for West Texas Intermediate, the key U.S. crude, ended at $19.66 a 42-gallon barrel, up 62 cents after a 43-cent gain Tuesday. The June contract expired Monday and finished at $20.93, with a gain of 33 cents from Friday's close. Prices of crude oil contracts for delivery after July all posted sharp gains.

"Maui no ka oi" is a popular Hawaiian saying that means Maui is the best. Mike Sweeney recently moved to this idyllic island from Denver and experienced the other side of paradise with his first visit to the gas pump. Maui is also No. 1 in the nation in gasoline prices. "After seeing the total, I won't be smiling," Sweeney said as he watched the numbers on the Chevron pump spin faster than a slot machine. The pump finally stopped at $97.20, which put 24 1/2 gallons in his Chevrolet Avalanche.

Just as the recovery is finally looking real, surging fuel prices are once again looming as a major threat to the financial health of U.S. consumers and the broader economy. The price surge has been particularly steep in California, in part because of maintenance at some refineries that make the state's cleaner-burning gasoline. Statewide, average pump prices for regular gasoline crossed the $4 mark over the weekend and reached an average of $4.031 a gallon Monday, up 5% in just the last week and nearly 9% higher than a month ago. "It doesn't bode well for the consumer," said Jeff Spring of the Automobile Club of Southern California.

Used-car prices, which had shot up in recent years, are starting to fall. Easing gasoline prices in much of the nation and more trade-ins from a pickup in new-car sales are behind the decrease. Used-car prices are expected to decline 2% in June from May, according to the National Automobile Dealers Assn. Used Car Guide. Used truck prices are expected to fall 1%. Some used cars, especially fuel-efficient autos, will see much larger drops, the association said, as falling gas prices reduces demand for the vehicles.

Southern California has seen its biggest ever one-month rise in gasoline prices, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California's weekend gas watch. The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in the varying regions of Southern California has now climbed 57 to 59 cents since last month. "We looked at all of the one-month spikes that could have been bigger since the year 2000 and this was bigger than any of those," said Marie Montgomery, a spokeswoman for the Automobile Club.

The drop in gasoline prices in California that began more than a month ago has slowed to a crawl, but there may be good news ahead when one of the state's most important refineries returns to full production as early as this month. When operating at its full 245,000-barrel-a-day capacity, Chevron Corp.'s Richmond refinery is the second most productive in the state. But it has been operating at lower levels since a fire idled part of the facility in August. Analysts at the Oil Price Information Service said the refinery could be back at full operation as early as this month.

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration is expected to propose new rules Friday that would slash the amount of sulfur in gasoline, one of the most significant steps the administration can take this term toward cutting air pollution, said people with knowledge of the announcement. The new rules would bring the rest of the country's sulfur standards in line with California's gasoline program. The oil industry and members of Congress from oil states have criticized the standards as onerous with few health benefits in return.

When Ferrari's biggest and baddest supercar is a hybrid, you know the world has changed. Once considered the province of techies and the eco-friendly, hybrids are catching on in almost every vehicle segment. Hybrid sales were up 32% in the first two months of this year compared with the same period last year, according to research firm Autodata Corp. That's driven by a combination of trends, including upward-creeping gas prices, a growing track record for reliability and the wider selection of hybrid offerings - everything from the entry-level Toyota Prius C to the spacious Ford Fusion sedan to the LaFerrari, a 949-horsepower, million-dollar monster.

Depends on whom you ask. The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday proposed what it called "sensible standards for cars and gasoline that will significantly reduce harmful pollution, prevent thousands of premature deaths and illnesses" while "enabling efficiency improvements in the cars and trucks we drive. " For example, the EPA would reduce gasoline sulfur levels by more than 60%, down to 10 parts per million (ppm), in 2017. The EPA proposal would bring the rest of the nation in line with standards already in effect in California, the agency said.

With average gasoline prices topping $4 a gallon, fewer Southern California residents say they plan to take a leisure trip over spring break, according to a survey by the Auto Club of Southern California. The annual survey of Auto Club members found that 47% said they plan at least one leisure trip this spring break season, compared with 57% in 2012 and 55% in 2011. High gasoline prices prompted 69% of those polled to say they made at least one significant cut to their budget, compared with 66% in 2012 and 61% in 2011.

California drivers have long suffered from the state's geographical isolation from the nation's major oil pipelines that pump crude to domestic refineries. That forced California to rely on much more expensive imported oil. In 2012, California imported more than half of its oil from overseas (50.7%) for the first time ever. But that has begun to change. In the short term, analysts say California prices should fall to the $3.75 to $4 range for a gallon of regular gasoline in the coming weeks.

The drop in gasoline prices in California that began more than a month ago has slowed to a crawl, but there may be good news ahead when one of the state's most important refineries returns to full production as early as this month. When operating at its full 245,000-barrel-a-day capacity, Chevron Corp.'s Richmond refinery is the second most productive in the state. But it has been operating at lower levels since a fire idled part of the facility in August. Analysts at the Oil Price Information Service said the refinery could be back at full operation as early as this month.

If you're fed up with high gasoline prices, you might want to avoid the roads less traveled. In the remote town of Hana on the Hawaiian island of Maui, you'll find vistas of natural beauty and what may be the nation's most expensive regular-grade gasoline at $6.03 a gallon. You also might skip the scenic drive along Highway 190 in Death Valley, which will lead you to the Furnace Creek Resort, where regular was selling for $5.75 a gallon Tuesday. "It's a resort. They charge what they want," said Raymond, a fellow who declined to give his last name and said he answers the phone at the Furnace Creek Chevron now and then.

The Environmental Protection Agency says that model year 2012 cars and trucks will have the highest ever real-world average fuel economy at about 23.8 miles per gallon. That would be 1.2 mpg higher than the previous peak set in 2010. In 2011, when U.S. gasoline prices averaged a then-record $3.53 for a gallon of regular, the mpg numbers fell. The EPA says that mileage fell by 0.2 mpg in 2011, in part because of the effects of the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear power disasters in Japan.