California gas station charging more than $8 per gallon

LOS ANGELES — Some drivers are getting sticker shock at a downtown Los Angeles gas station, where the price per gallon is more than $8.

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The national average price for a gallon of gas across the United States was $4.67 Tuesday, while the California average was $6.19, according to AAA. The Los Angeles County average is $6.20.

“The Los Angeles County average price has increased $1.376 since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 sent shockwaves through the oil market that have kept oil costs elevated,” Andrew Gross, a public relations manager for AAA, told KABC.

A Chevron station in downtown Los Angeles is charging even more than that, with a gallon of regular priced at $8.05 and a gallon of diesel priced at $9.19, KTTV reported.

Some have accused the station of price gouging, but the business denies that being the case. In a statement to KTTV, Chevron said there are multiple factors that determine the cost per gallon of gasoline, “including some unique ones specific to California.”

More than half of the pump price is determined by the cost of crude oil, while the other components of gas — production costs, distribution costs, overhead costs, sales, taxes and carbon offset fees — determine the rest, KABC reported.

Chevron told KTTV that most of its stations in California are independently owned, which means the individual gas station sets the price for gas. In their statement to the station, Chevron said it “does not tolerate unlawful pricing practices at any of its branded stations.”

The California Attorney General’s office told KTTV that while it is keeping an eye on gas prices and has warned the CEOs of gas companies against market manipulation, the state’s price gouging law is not triggered unless a state of emergency has been declared.

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