Gasoline station owners in the Los Angeles area including Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) are beginning to shut pumps because of supply shortages that have driven wholesale fuel prices to record highs. Costcoâs outlet in Simi Valley, 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles, ran out of regular gasoline yesterday and was selling premium fuel at the price of regular, Jeff Cole, Costcoâs vice president of gasoline, said by telephone. The company hasnât been able to find enough unbranded summer-grade gasoline to keep its stations supplied, he said. The gasoline shortage âfeels like a hurricane to me, but itâs the West Coast,â Cole said yesterday. âWeâre obviously extremely disheartened that we are unable to do this, and weâre pulling fuel from all corners of California to fix this.â Spot, or wholesale, gasoline in Los Angeles climbed 30 cents to $1.45 a gallon over gasoline futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Thatâs the highest level for the fuel since at least November 2007, when Bloomberg began publishing prices there. The premium has surged $1 this week. On an outright basis, the fuel jumped to $4.3396 a gallon. Prices Jump Gasoline at the pump gained 8.3 cents to $4.315 a gallon in California yesterday, according to AAA.com, 53.1 cents more than the national average of $3.784. In Los Angeles the price was $4.347. Gasoline futures for November delivery on the Nymex rose 11.15 cents to $2.911 a gallon at 1:35 p.m. today, after falling yesterday to a 10-week low. Retail price movements tend to lag behind those of futures. Low-P, a gasoline station in Calabasas, California, 30 miles west of Los Angeles, stopped selling unleaded gasoline Oct. 2 and ran out of high-octane and medium-octane fuel yesterday, John Ravi, the stationâs owner, said by phone yesterday. Ravi said he posted an âOut of Gasolineâ sign on each pump and took down the prices outside his shop. âI can get gas, but itâs going to cost me $4.90 a gallon, and I canât sell it here for $5,â Ravi said. âIf you come here right now, Iâve got some diesel left. Thatâs all. My market is open, but no gas.â http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-...begin-to-shut-on-record-high-spot-prices.html
Maybe my headline didn't say it properly. Gas is spiking from the low $4 area to the mid $4 area and higher. Here is a chart showing what I mean. They are having a serious refinery issue there. http://www.californiagasprices.com/retail_price_chart.aspx