As the Russia-Ukraine crisis unfolds, where are Fresno’s highest, lowest gasoline prices?
.jpeg "The cash price for regular unleaded gasoline at the EZ Trip station near Herndon Avenue and Highway 99, in northwest Fresno, was $4.15 9/10 per gallon on Thursday afternoon, Feb. 24, 2022. Hours earlier, the station’s price was reported by GasBuddy.com users at $4.04 per gallon.")
Gasoline prices in Fresno are already on the rise in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine overnight Wednesday, up by three to four cents per gallon so far by midday Thursday.
The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded in the Fresno market was about $4.60 per gallon on Thursday morning, according to GasBuddy.com. GasBuddy compiles real-time gasoline price data at stations nationwide based on reports from customers using the company’s mobile application.
The lowest gasoline price reported Thursday morning by GasBuddy users in the Fresno area was a cash price of $4.05 per gallon, at an EZ Trip station near Herndon Avenue and Highway 99 in northwest Fresno. By 1:30 p.m., however, the posted cash price at the station was up to $4.16 – an increase of 11 cents.
That increase pushed the station to a higher price than a pair of Costco membership stores in the area: $4.09 per gallon at the Costco store on West Shaw Avenue in northwest Fresno, and $4.15 per gallon at Clovis Costco store near Clovis and Shaw avenues.
The highest price observed on GasBuddy for regular unleaded was $5.09 at a Chevron station at Fresno and E streets in downtown Fresno, just east of Highway 99.
Several stations scattered around northwest, northeast and southeast Fresno, and in Clovis, reflected gas prices on the cusp of $5 per gallon.
Wholesale gasoline prices had already climbed by about 8 to 10 cents per gallon on Thursday, said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. “Gas stations are raising their prices to reflect the increase in cost,” he added. Nationwide, increases in retail gasoline prices of 5 to 15 cents per gallon will likely play out over the next few weeks.
DeHaan added that he does not believe drivers are likely to experience sticker shock from sudden, dramatic increases in pump prices, instead saying that stations “likely will slowly raise their prices over the next one to two weeks” as they refill their tanks with pricier fuel.
“Gas stations usually struggle to raise prices as quickly as they pay them,” he said. “Gas stations will be facing the higher cost immediately, today, but it may be difficult for stations to immediately pass that along. That is often why gas prices do not come down as quickly as they go up.”
DeHaan added, however, that California’s average gas price is likely to eclipse $5 per gallon sometime over the next few weeks.
