Arizona gas prices surge above $4 a gallon, miss out on greater jump from Tropical Storm Hilary

PHOENIX — Gas prices in Arizona continue to rise and remain among the highest in the nation, but an even bigger jump was avoided after most California refineries were untouched during Tropical Storm Hilary.

Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis at price reporting agency Oil Price Information Service, said there was real concern from suppliers due to uncertainty from the storm that is atypical in the Pacific.

“There was a moment there last week if you had gasoline in California, whether it was for Arizona or not, where you were very reluctant to sell it because they’ve never been through a hurricane before,” Kloza told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Tuesday.

“Now they have and the good news is that most of them came through without incident.”

Arizona’s statewide average was $4.23 a gallon as of Tuesday, the seventh-highest in the nation and about 40 cents higher than the nationwide average, according to AAA.

A week ago, the Arizona average was $4.07 a gallon.

Kloza expects average prices to top out at around $4.50 before dropping, but says that timeline is muddied.

“I’m not sure what the prices go in the next 30 days, but in the next 60 to 90 days, we drop a lot,” Kloza said. “So you get cheaper prices in the fall.”

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Jim Cross contributed to this report.

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