Expect a gas-price hike of at least 30¢ | San Diego Reader

By next week GasBuddy anticipates prices in Northern California will be 10 to 20 cents per gallon higher.

Orange County’s gas prices made an even bigger jump, rising 12.8 cents to $3.625, its largest daily increase since February 27, according to figures from AAA and the Oil Price Information Service.

This means motorists in the Coachella Valley will be paying anywhere from 3.25 to 3.59 a gallon to fill up their tank, compared to the relatively low prices they’ve been seeing as of late.

Honolulu’s average gas price declined by two cents to $3.28 over the past week, and is four cents lower than a month ago and $1.03 less than this time previous year.

Just last weekend, the region was looking at quite the opposite situation.

“A panic is going on, then when the buyers (gas station owners) receive more balanced information, the prices go back down very quickly”.

“The federal government’s report Wednesday identified California supply problems that are compounded by a dearth of imports where they’re most needed”, said Patrick DeHaan, GasBuddy’s senior petroleum analyst.

Statewide, the average price for cash-paid regular gas rose by 3.4 cents in the 24-hour period since the report’s release.

Anna Rumer is a public safety reporter for The Desert Sunday.