It’s official, Los Angeles: Average gas prices in the Southland now top $5 a gallon.
That bad news was widely expected amid ongoing increases in oil prices (thanks, Putin!). Even so, reaching this milestone still stings.
Gas prices are now rising at the fastest clip since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The nationwide average is just over $3.80 a gallon.
In L.A., the average as of Friday was almost $5.20.
Here’s a kick in the teeth for consumers: U.S. gas prices are up 18 cents a gallon since Wednesday. They’re up 29 cents a gallon since the start of the war in Ukraine.
“This is not the end of it,” Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis for market researcher OPIS, told CNN. “We’re already up another 14 cents on wholesale gas prices this morning. It’s absolutely out of control.”
Oil prices topped $113 a barrel Friday — and keep heading north. If they reach $150 a barrel, some analysts say, expect pump prices to top $7 a gallon.
None of this is good news for consumers. Prices for almost everything, including food, are rising in part because of higher transportation costs.
As it becomes more expensive to move products from factories and warehouses to stores, those higher costs inevitably get passed along to shoppers (you and me, that is).
Some Wall Street analysts expect commodity prices, including oil, to stabilize in coming weeks. And that may be the case.
Or it could be wishful thinking.