Average Regular Gas Price in California Hits $6 Per Gallon

On Tuesday, California's gas prices hit a new record high, with a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline costing US$6.021 on average. It's the first time that the average price of regular gas in California surpassed US$6 a gallon, according to American Automobile Association (AAA).

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The state's latest gas price is up sharply from US$4.13 a year ago. Many larger cities are paying more for gas as the average stands at US$6.067 in Los Angeles County and US$6.269 a gallon in San Francisco.

California continued to have the highest average gas prices in the United States. The Mono County also has the highest county average nationwide, with some stations charging as much as about US$7.20.

The national average price rose to US$4.523. Moreover, Georgia, Kansas and Oklahoma, the last three states with an average price below US$4 a gallon on Monday, all crossed that threshold in Tuesday's reading. AAA said the surge of gas price is primarily due to the high cost of crude oil, which is hovering near US$110 a barrel.

"The high cost of oil is driving these high pump prices for consumers. Even the annual seasonal demand dip for gasoline during the lull between spring break and Memorial Day, which would normally help lower prices, is having no effect this year," said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson.

However, Shelley Channel, who owns a Shell station in Mono County, told USA Today that gas prices pushed by inflation might have finally reached a tipping point in the region unless the government finds ways of easing the financial pain.

"When inflation is running over 8 percent, that's different than it's been in the past," he said. "So maybe it takes some extraordinary measures to try to address that to help families be able to survive and pay their rent and put food on the table."