Gas Prices Reach All-Time High in California

Gas prices in California have hit a new all-time high for the second day in a row, according to data from the American Automobile Association (AAA), with fuel costs continuing to surge across the country.

On Monday, the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded in the nation's most populous state hit $4.682—up from Sunday's $4.676 average, which broke a record set in October 2012.

In contrast, the U.S. average for regular gasoline prices stood at $3.415 per gallon on Monday.

AAA said the state is currently experiencing a "supply crunch," noting that heavy rainstorms in Northern California have hindered production capacity, and that this has had a knock-on effect in Southern California.

"It's a bit of a supply crunch we have right now, there's nothing major, until the refineries in Northern California can get back up to full production capacity," Jeffrey Spring, Corporate Communications Manager of the Automobile Club of Southern California told CNN.

AAA spokesperson Doug Shupe, meanwhile, said that gasoline prices are surging in part due to demand from the COVID-19 pandemic and an uptick in post-summer vacation travel.

"Drivers are paying $1.50 more per gallon than a year ago. It means the person who has the typical midsize sedan with a 14-gallon-size fuel tank, they're paying $21 more to fill up that tank today than last year," Shupe told CNN.

"Typically we see prices at the pump fall off after Labor Day because people have completed their summer vacations. Kids are back in school," Shupe added. "But this year people are still traveling. There's still that demand for fuel to get to where people want to go."

Spring said AAA hopes gasoline prices will begin to drop by the end of the year.

The skyrocketing gas prices come as U.S. consumers face the steepest inflation in more than two decades.

According to analysis from Lundberg Survey last week, the average cost for regular gasoline per gallon in the country increased by 5 cents over the prior two weeks—roughly $1.30 higher than a year ago.

While the Biden administration has come under fire over surging fuel prices, the Energy Department told CNBC last month that it has "no immediate plans" to either restrict energy exports or use emergency reserves.

President Joe Biden said at a November 6 news conference that "there are other tools in the arsenal that we have" to get "more energy in the pipeline," without elaborating.

The White House is "dealing with other countries" and will touch on the matter "at an appropriate time," he added.