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As we predicted on Friday, gas prices have soared almost 13¢ over the weekend to a new average of $4.35 a gallon this morning. The current price is just three cents away for this year's record high of $4.38 a gallon.  The all-time record high for San Diego was set in June of 2008, when prices reached $4.61 a gallon. 

Reports of record low inventories have given California refineries a green light for high-octane price hikes.

Consumers who delay buying gas today will pay more for it tomorrow.

Earlier this year many prominent gasoline analysts predicted $5 a gallon gasoline this summer. In fact, we turned down several media interviews because we were unwilling to parrot hysterical predictions that gasoline prices would exceed $5 a gallon in 2012.  While we said it was "possible," we also made it clear that it was "highly unlikely."

Enter the retail price of gasoline and get an accurate estimate of what you are paying in gas taxes!

In the last 24 hours gas prices have increased nine cents following news that British Petroleum / Arco's  massive Carson refinery had a flaring event early this morning. The unplanned flaring is expected to continue through Wednesday, according to Reuters, and was caused by an unspecified breakdown.

In the last 48 hours, gas prices in San Diego have surged by nearly 10¢ a gallon. At $4.07 a gallon, San Diego's gas prices are the highest on record for any February in County history, including the year 2008, when gasoline prices hit an all-time record high of $4.64 a gallon on June 13, 2008. This trend is paralleled by a a national average of more than $3.54 a gallon, which is also the highest price on record.

1967 Comuta all electric car.  Source: Wikimedia.org Photo by C-Car Tom.

At $3.77 a gallon, San Diego's gasoline now costs more than any February on record. The current high prices show that we may be on track for breaking the all-time record high of $3.64 a gallon in June of 2008.  But even if we don't break the all-time record, chances are excellent that you will spend MORE on gasoline in 2012 than you did in '08 because of sustained high prices.

Gas prices are at the highest level for any January on record at a current San Diego average of $3.77 a gallon.  This price is 43¢ higher than a year ago, but oddly, oil prices have not increased that much.  On a per gallon basis, oil only costs about 16¢ more per gallon than it did this time last year.

NYMEX WTI oil prices continue to flirt with the $100 a barrel barrier, and actually breached it at $100.86 last Wednesday.  Yet as the futures price of oil increased, gasoline prices have declined. Unfortunately, the probablility of additional decreases in retail gas prices is minimal if oil prices continue their upward trajectory.  

What's more likely to happen is that the price of Brent Crude from the North Sea will continue to drop while the price of WTI (West Texas Intermediary) will continue to climb.