Gas prices at Schlafer’s Auto Body & Repair in the tiny town of Mendocino in Mendocino County on March 8. [Photo from Galen Bach cropped and contrasted]

The seaside town of Mendocino has a single gas station called Schlafer’s Auto Body & Repair. Yesterday, coastal resident Galen Bach took a picture of the gas pump and thought it worthy of posting on social media. For a regular price of gasoline, a customer of Schlafer’s would pay $8.45, which is just shy of double the national average of $4.25, and 42% more expensive than the average gallon of gas in California.

Patrick De Haan, the Head of GasBuddy.com’s Petroleum analysis team, told us that the price per gallon at Schlafer’s has “a very strong likelihood that this is the most expensive station in America.” De Haan reviewed GasBuddy’s records of current gas prices across the United States, and he told us, “I can’t find any more expensive at the present moment.”

Last summer Schlafer’s made national news for officially being considered the most expensive fuel in the country, at that point charging $6.73 for a gallon of gas. Owner Judith Schlafer told SF Gate’s Freda Moon after she learned their station was currently the most expensive in the country, “It has to be that way, or I’d be out of business.”

Galen Bach, according to him the “best chimney sweep ever”, told us he had to raise his service prices across the board on the coast. He is paying more for parts, gas, and the general cost of living. He remembered buying six bags of groceries recently at Mendocino’s Harvest Market and paying $455.

Currently, the North Coast of California has one of the most expensive gasoline markets, as per AAA’s County Gas Prices map.

The map provides a county-by-county breakdown of the average cost of a gallon of gas. Coming in the first place on the North Coast is Humboldt County at $5.70, second Del Norte at $5.64, third is Sonoma at $5.57, fourth is Trinity at $5.41, the fifth is Lake at $5.43, and coming in sixth for the cheapest gas currently on the North Coast is Mendocino County at $5.35. Worth noting, it looks like Mono County, east of the Sierra Nevada mountains has the state’s highest gas prices at $6.02.

It was just yesterday that California’s average gas price crept above $5 per gallon for the first time in history. DeHaan told the SFGATE yesterday that he could see California’s average gallon of gas costing $6 and a growing number of gas stations charging $8 or more.

This dramatic rise in gas prices is the result of a multitude of forces converging including the deliberate dialing back of domestic oil production in 2019, sanctions against Iran and Venezuela decreasing worldwide supply, the pandemic’s heightened demand for petroleum-based products such as medical plastics, the recent sanctions levied against Russia, and finally a number of taxes specific to the state of California.

Bach told us that when he posted the photograph of gas prices in Mendocino, a heated political debate erupted on his Facebook profile with many Trump voters blaming Biden for the gas prices.

Putting aside politics, the dramatic rise in gas prices has got this father of three thinking about money in a completely different light. With these prices, Bach said, “I have three kids I’m raising. It’s not easy at all.”

The post Mendocino Coast Fuel Station Is the ‘Most Costly in America’ Charging $8.45 Per Gallon – Redheaded Blackbelt appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

Drivers in the San Francisco Bay Area pay more at the gas pump than anywhere else in the country – with a gallon of gas near a record $ 4.84 as the nation remains gripped by an inflationary crisis.

The average price of a gallon of regular fuel in San Francisco on Monday was just a penny below the highest ever recorded average – $ 4.85 – which was hit on Saturday, according to the GasBuddy website.

Last month, the average price of a gallon of fuel in San Francisco was $ 4.64. A year ago, the average price was around $ 3.37.

“Drivers are paying $ 1.50 more per gallon than they were a year ago,” AAA spokesman Doug Shupe told CBS SF.

“That means the person who has a typical midsize sedan with a 14-gallon fuel tank is paying $ 21 more to fill that tank today than they were last year.”

The United States has seen gasoline prices rise sharply in recent months, with analysts saying rising crude oil prices, tighter gas supplies, and increased demand are driving gasoline prices higher.

The consumer price index for October rose 6.2 percent compared to the same month last year – the highest since 1990.

Gas prices rose a whopping 59 percent year-on-year and total energy prices rose 4.8 percent in October 2021 and are up 30 percent year-on-year.

Fuel prices at a Shell gas station in San Francisco, California are displayed on October 21 above

The average price for a gallon of regular fuel in San Francisco was $ 4.84, according to the GasBuddy website. It’s a dime less than the highest average ever recorded – $ 4.85 – hit on Saturday. The above picture is from October 21st

Meanwhile, the average price for a gallon of fuel in California remains nearly $ 1.30 above the national average, according to the American Automobile Association

Across the country, Americans took a little break as the average gallon settled at $ 3.41 – a penny less since last week

Last month, the average price of a gallon of fuel in San Francisco was $ 4.64. A year ago, the average price was about $ 3.37

The price of fuel in California remains well above the national average, according to the AAA

Heavy rains in Northern California have hampered manufacturing capacity to further aggravate the pain at the pump, according to the AAA.

The average price of a gallon of fuel in California remains nearly $ 1.30 above the national average, according to the American Automobile Association.

On Monday, the nationwide average of a gallon of fuel was $ 3.42 per AAA. In California, the average rises to $ 4.68 – the highest in the country.

Hawaii has the second highest gas price at $ 4.34 per gallon. Nevada; Washington; Oregon; Alaska; Utah; Idaho; Arizona; and the District of Columbia round out the top 10.

A year ago, the average price of a gallon of fuel in California was $ 3.18.

In 2008, the price of a gallon of regular fuel in San Francisco would have cost drivers only $ 1.78.

Nationwide, Americans took a little break as the average price of a gallon settled at $ 3.41 – a dime drop since last week.

Since October 30, the national average has declined on nine different days after rising steadily over the past 31 days.

The national average on Monday is 11 centers more than a month ago and $ 1.29 more than a year ago. That is 81 cents more than in 2019.

Production at California’s oil refineries has been disrupted in recent weeks by heavy rains in Northern California. The picture above shows a downpour in Marin City, California on October 24th

US jobless claims are falling to a pandemic low of 267,000 – but there are still 10 million jobs left across the country

Wednesday’s consumer price index report comes as the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell to a new pandemic low of 267,000 last week.

Unemployment claims fell by 4,000 last week, the Labor Department reported Wednesday, and the four-week average of claims, which offset weekly highs and lows, fell nearly 7,300 to 278,000, also a pandemic low.

Applications for unemployment benefits have largely steadily declined since the peak of 900,000 in early January, and are gradually approaching pre-pandemic levels of around 220,000 per week. The entitlements to a stand-in for layoffs have now decreased for six weeks in a row.

For the week ended October 30, 2.2 million Americans were on traditional unemployment benefits.

Yet companies across the country are reporting a labor shortage with 10 million vacancies.

Companies have now passed the cost of downsizing to consumers.

US consumer prices skyrocketed 6.2 percent last year as food, gasoline, automobiles and residential property catapulted inflation to its highest level since 1990.

According to the consumer price index, gasoline prices are up a whopping 59 percent year over year, while meat prices are up 24 percent.

Fuel prices also rose by 12.3 percent compared to September 2021 and by 59 percent last year.

Overall, energy prices rose by 4.8 percent in October 2021 and thus by 30 percent compared to the previous year.

They could rise even further, the Department of Energy warned, as temperatures plummet this year.

Food costs rose nearly 1 percent compared to September and 5.4 percent last year, with grain up 4.5 percent, bread up 24 percent, bacon up 20 percent and meat up 24 percent year over year.

Furniture prices rose 12 percent year-on-year, while washing machines rose 15 percent and sporting goods rose 8.7 percent.

Even used cars and trucks rose by 25 percent in just one month and by 26.4 percent over the year.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s retail prices report found the cost of bone-in ribeye beef nearly doubled from $ 8.71 a pound in November 2020 to a staggering $ 16.99 a pound last week.

It found that filet mignon rose from $ 8.42 a pound to $ 10.28 while fillet rose $ 4 a pound and T-bone steaks were also up $ 1 a pound.

And another report from IRI Protein Practice, which examined meat prices throughout October, saw less sharp increases.

Beef sirloin rose 28 percent to $ 11.20 a pound, ribeye rose 41 percent to $ 14.48 a pound and brisket rose 36 percent to $ 4.80 a pound.

As prices rise, consumers seek cheaper cuts; Ribeye sales declined 36 percent in October 2021 from October 2020, while the price rose 40 percent, according to the IRI.

Beef innards, which fell 4 percent to $ 3.59 a pound, were more popular – sales rose 17.7 percent.

The high prices were felt across the country, but according to the Consumer Price Index, St. Louis, Missouri, and cities in Georgia and Arizona were hardest hit.

Prices in St. Louis rose 7.5 percent year over year, while prices in Atlanta, Sandy Springs, and Roswell, Georgia rose a whopping 7.9 percent.

Prices skyrocketed 7.1 percent in Phoenix, Mesa, and Scottsdale, Arizona.

US household debt has now reached a record high.

The Federal Reserve announced Tuesday that total household debt rose $ 286 billion to $ 15.24 trillion in the third quarter of 2021 after weakening for much of the pandemic.

The consumer price index rose 6.2 percent in October 2021 compared to the previous year – the highest level since 1990

The consumer price index shows a price increase in all categories from used cars, laundry, furniture to groceries

Mortgage balances, which make up the largest proportion of household debt, rose $ 230 billion to $ 10.67 trillion at the end of September, reflecting rapidly rising home prices.

Total non-residential balances rose $ 61 billion, including a $ 28 billion increase in auto loan balances as supply chain issues led to huge increases in the price of new and used vehicles.

The Labor Department also reported Tuesday that its producer price index – which measures inflation before it hits consumers – rose 0.6 percent last month from September, driven higher by soaring gasoline prices.

Excluding volatile food and energy prices, wholesale inflation rose 0.4 percent in October from September and 6.8 percent year over year.

More than 60 percent of the total increase in producer prices from September to October was caused by a 1.2 percent increase in wholesale prices in contrast to services.

A 6.7 percent increase in wholesale gasoline prices also helped drive up commodity prices.

A U.S. Department of Agriculture retail price report released Friday found meat prices soaring

The price hike is being driven, at least in part, by the revival of the economy following widespread closures related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Many companies struggled to meet unexpectedly strong demand after the pandemic, creating labor, raw materials and goods and affecting traffic in ports and freight yards.

The result has been higher prices, and the supply shortage is expected to persist at least well into 2022.

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