Why are gas prices going up HERE?
BIZ_EPZ_GAS_PRICES.jpgEven before Bethany’s story in today’s paper, we’ve had some letters to our department asking why local gas prices have been creeping back up, even as the barrel price for oil kept dropping. After falling for months, the average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline in Fresno rose nearly 13 cents since Dec. 13 to almost $1.90 Tuesday. The average in the Visalia-Tulare-Porterville area increased 12 cents since Dec. 15 to nearly $1.94 a gallon. Meanwhile, the national average has fallen during that period to below $1.62 a gallon. Reasons given in the story seem sketchy to me: prices in California run higher (but why are prices just going up here?); prices usually rise around holidays (but why are prices just going up here?); changes are happening at West Coast refineries (but why are prices just going up here?).
