Gas Prices Keep on Climbing

If you feel like gasoline prices are rising on a daily basis, there's a good reason.

They are.

The California State Automobile Association released its monthly gas price survey today.

It shows the average price for a gallon of unleaded regular in Northern California has risen to $4.17, a 27-cent leap from a month ago.

In the East Bay, the average price has jumped to $4.24, a 28-cent hike from a month ago. That's also a 16-cent increase from one week ago – an average of more than two cents a day.

In San Ramon, a gallon of unleaded regular now costs an average of $4.19, a 25-cent jump from a month ago. The price is also about 15 cents higher than last week.

A year ago, the average price in the East Bay was $3.10. That's $1.14 less than it now costs.

People gassing up at the Chevron station at Santa Rita Road and Valley Avenue in Pleasanton were trying to make the best of it.

A gallon of unleaded regular was selling for $4.25 on Monday afternoon. That was the same price as the Shell station across the street.

Wendy, a woman who lives and works in Pleasanton, put $34 into her Toyota Highlander, nowhere close to filling the tank.

"It hurts," she simply said.

Wendy now bikes to work once in awhile to save a few dollars.

"I do what I can," she said.

Nearby, Scott, a Livermore resident, put 13 gallons into his 26-gallon Chevy Silverado truck. It cost him $66.

Scott tries to carpool when he can, but he works for a construction company, so he has to travel.

"I think the price is pretty ridiculous," he commented.

Nearby, Diane was having to pump unleaded premium into her BMW Mini-Cooper at more than $4.40 a gallon.

She tries to organize her shopping trips better, so she doesn't cruise around town, wasting gas.

"It's just a lot of money," she said.

In San Ramon, Bekki Livingston has taken to running her errands on her Vespa. She got her motorcycle license once fuel prices started soaring.

"Works for me," she wrote on our San Ramon Patch Facebook page. "Lots of local errands, and I can go 70 miles on one gallon."

The rise has occurred despite the fact the demand for gasoline has decreased across the United States the past couple weeks.

Officials at Triple A say the weak U. S. dollar as well as unrest in Libya, Syria, Yemen and other Middle East countries is helping fuel the rise.

However, they say the biggest cause is speculators on the commodities market.

"Investors continue to be the largest force driving the market price for oil," said Matt Skryja, an AAA Northern California spokesman. "Instability in the Middle East and North Africa still has them concerned about the world's supply of crude, which has helped keep oil prices on the rise."

Jay McKeeman, the vice president of government relations for the California Independent Oil Marketers Association, agrees.

He also blames speculators for the high price of gasoline.

"It's all because of the price of crude. As crude prices rise, the price of gas rises," McKeeman said.

Sean Comey, a spokesman for Chevron Corporation, said about two-thirds of the cost of gasoline comes from the price of crude oil. He added most of the rest of the price is due to federal, state and sales taxes.

Some critics contend oil companies should accept a smaller profit margin during these economic times. However, Comey said Chevron reinvests its earnings into exploring and developing new sources of oil and natural gas as well as producing alternative energy such as geothermal power.

He noted Chevron earned $19 billion in 2010, but it spent $22 billion on energy exploration and development. The company plans to spend $26 billion this year in its capital and exploratory budget.

– Jennifer Wadsworth also contributed to this report