California has enough gasoline and diesel to last four to six weeks at normal demand, the state's Energy Commission said this week — and the last tanker of crude from the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran closed in February, just docked in Long Beach.
Madison Wilber reports for FOX26 that AAA's current California average is $6.11 a gallon. In Fresno, the weekly average jumped 25 cents to $5.94, with stations ranging from $5.39 to $7.15. Modesto is at $5.84, Salinas at $6.09.
California imports about 25% of its gasoline and 20% of its jet fuel from overseas refineries, Chevron spokesperson Ross Allen told Wilber. Jodie Muller of the Western States Petroleum Association said that in a global shortage, every country looks inward first, "and then California is left bidding for what's left."
A Jones Act waiver from the Trump administration allows refiners to import crude from the U.S. Gulf Coast, but California is still competing with other countries for those barrels. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says reopening the strait would bring relief; economists told FOX26 that missile damage to Gulf refining facilities could keep prices elevated through the end of the year.
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