High gas prices plague California but Arizona lucks out
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PHOENIX -- Filling up in California means while the gas tank is getting full, a driver's wallet is being drained.
A short supply of gas caused by refinery problems has led to the spike in California gas prices. Many drivers there are paying nearly $6 a gallon for gas.
"In California, they use a special blend of fuel that's very difficult to make," said Fred Rosa, retail pricing director at the Oil Price Information Service. "Only a few refineries can actually make it."
Rosa said he was surprised the prices went that high.
"We were anticipating prices to go down," Rosa said. "We are seeing prices go down in a lot of the other parts of the country. When this issue about the refineries in California came up, the wholesale prices there really skyrocketed.
"A lot of the retail prices haven't caught up. That's probably the issue there."
Whether Arizona will see $6 a gallon gas in the Valley anytime soon, Rosa said don't worry.
"You might see a 10-cent-a-gallon increase over the next couple of weeks, but I wouldn't expect anything more than that," Rosa said.
Bob McClay, Reporter
