'Absolutely outrageous': Enten spotlights priciest gas in the US

[0:00] One of the big issues ahead of this June 2nd primary in California, just like it is around [0:04] the country, is the cost of living. With us now, CNN Chief Data Analyst Harry Enten. We talk about [0:11] gas prices every day here. Another big jump overnight to this multi-year high. We talk about [0:16] the national average in California, even bigger. Oh my goodness gracious. I mean, just take a look [0:21] at the price of gasoline for a gallon of gas. The national average right now is $4.48, but you think [0:27] that's bad. Go out to the left coast, top in the United States, $6.13. There's even a gas station [0:34] out there where the cost is about $10 per gallon. And of course, if you've ever been out there, [0:41] you always know that the prices in California for a gallon of gas are just simply put, absolutely [0:47] outrageous, running well ahead of the national average. The folks in California really getting [0:52] hurt by this increase in gas prices. Part of the reason for that is they have a higher gas tax, [0:56] right? That's exactly right. One of the big reasons why you see this big difference right [1:01] here is, in fact, the gas tax out in California. And our partners at USA Facts help provide this [1:07] data for us. Take a look here, the state gas tax and fees per gallon. You know, in the average [1:11] state, it's $0.33. California, again, the top in the nation, more than double that. It's $0.71. [1:17] Now, Johnny B., the quick math here is what? A difference of $0.38? That's a tough one. That's [1:24] a tough one to do in your head, but yeah, it's $0.38. Yes, it's $0.38. I know. It's very, [1:27] very difficult. My math lessons you're trying to work this morning. $0.38. You know, a decade [1:31] ago, the difference here was just $0.11. So what you're essentially seeing here is that Californians [1:36] are feeling the pain more and more over the last decade when it goes to the gas pump because [1:42] us, one of the big reasons why is the state gas tax and fees per gallon have been climbing [1:46] ever higher. How do voters there feel about this? Okay, so you see this $0.38 difference [1:52] here. You see this, what is this, you know, nearly $2 difference here. And not much of a [1:57] surprise here. California standards for energy and gas, not worth the added gas costs. Look [2:02] at this. Among all voters, 57% say it's not worth it. Among independents, it's 61%. It's [2:08] going to be very interesting to see if there's a question tonight when it comes to those gas costs [2:11] because Californians are clearly feeling the pain. And many of them at this point say, [2:15] you know what, it's just simply put, not worth it. They're going to be talking tons about the cost [2:20] of living tonight. I can almost guarantee it, but it'll be interesting to see where they place the [2:23] blame on California, on the Gavin Newsom regime or on President Trump. I think it will depend on [2:28] which party they are. Yeah, I think it might just be. Harold Linton, thank you very much for that. [2:33] The price of gas surging this morning, according to AAA, the national average price for a gallon of gas [2:39] is now $4.48. That's up 30 cents in just one week. Let's go live right now to CNN business and [2:46] politics correspondent, Vanessa Jurkiewicz. Vanessa, will we see $5 gas by June? [2:53] That is what some analysts are projecting, Wolf. But the national average, as you said, jumping [2:58] 30 cents in just the last week alone. $4.48 is the national average. Look at that a week ago, [3:05] $4.18 and a month ago, $4.11. We are up about 40% in terms of gas prices from a year ago, [3:13] and we're up 50% since the start of the war. Some analysts believe if the Strait of Hormuz remains [3:21] closed for the next month, we could see prices jump to $4.75. But there are some analysts, Wolf, [3:27] that are projecting that we could see $5 a gallon gas if the Strait remains closed for another month. [3:35] Now, if you compare sort of what we've been talking about, the last time we saw $5 gas [3:40] was in 2022, when the war with Russia and Ukraine broke out. If you look at this line chart, looking [3:47] at 2022, you can see that essentially the same timeline, February is when the war started. [3:55] You had gas prices climbing. And then you saw by June of 2022, that is when we saw that $5.02 [4:03] a gallon gas. That is the last record that we've seen. Here in 2026, we are on a similar trajectory, [4:11] Wolf. Some differences, gas prices started higher in 2022, and we were coming off the pandemic. [4:16] But this is a much more severe global energy shock to the entire global system. And that is why we are [4:24] seeing prices rising so quickly. And as long as we see oil, Wolf, trading above $100 a gallon, many analysts [4:32] do believe we are on our way to $5 and breaking that $5.02 record that we set in 2022, Wolf. [4:40] I just want to be precise. $4.48 is the national average for a gallon of gas, regular gasoline here in the United States. [4:48] But in some places, it's a lot more. Like California, for example, it's $6 a gallon or even more, right? [4:56] That's right. And we are seeing higher gas prices on the West Coast, the East Coast, and in the Midwest [5:01] because there's been some refinery disruptions in the Midwest. And that has pushed prices up there. [5:08] As you mentioned, $4.48, the national average across the entire United States. But we know Americans on the [5:14] coast and in the Midwest are being pinched even more by those higher prices, Wolf. [5:18] Yeah, it's getting up there. All right, Vanessa, your cave is reporting for us. Vanessa, thank you very, [5:22] very much. The roller coaster with the world's oil and gas markets continues. Oil prices have been, [5:30] yep, down, falling slightly this morning, but still have been above and are $100 a barrel. The U.S. [5:37] began helping guide ships through the strait just yesterday. Some reports of ships making it, [5:43] there have been some reports of some ships making it through, but shipping data still shows [5:48] there is no major increase in traffic, which means what for the future of it all? Matt Egan's here [5:54] with us now. Matt, what are you watching right now? Well, Kate, look, another day, another four-year [5:58] high for gas prices, right? A gallon of regular now selling for $4.48. This is the highest level [6:03] since July of 2022. It's exactly $1.50 above where gas was selling just before the war started. Now, [6:12] not nearly as high yet as that all-time Biden-era record of $5 a gallon. But yeah, [6:19] some analysts do fear that we could get there if the strait of Hormuz does not reopen soon. And keep [6:24] in mind that during the president's first term in office, gas prices were never above $3 a gallon, [6:30] now well above $4 a gallon. And some states are seeing especially big price hikes just in the past [6:37] month, right? $1.09 more expensive in Ohio, nearly $1 more expensive in Michigan, Indiana as well. This [6:45] is all in just the past month. I mean, you could go a whole year without seeing price hikes like that. [6:49] And these states are seeing it in the past month. And GasBuddy estimates that just since March 1st, [6:55] Americans are spending $24 billion more on gasoline. Now, some of that is seasonal, right? People drive [7:02] more as the weather warms up. But most of it is the fact that prices have just gone up so dramatically. [7:07] Now, the good news, relatively speaking, is, as you noted, oil futures, they have cooled off a little [7:13] bit, right? Down 2% on the day. I think there's some relief that the ceasefire overnight has appeared [7:19] to hold up. There were some real concerns about whether or not that was going to happen. But look, [7:23] $104 oil, I mean, that is not cheap. Before the war started, we're looking at $65 oil. So this is just [7:30] dramatically more expensive. You can see the trend. These are oil prices so far this year. There's [7:35] this big spike when the war started. And the CEO of Chevron, he was out warning that this situation [7:42] with the Strait of Hormuz, that this could be potentially as big as the energy shocks back in [7:47] the 1970s when there was fuel rationing and long lines at gas stations. And he said that these shock [7:53] absorbers in the system, right, inventories, emergency stockpiles, they're shrinking. And he warned that [7:58] eventually we could start to see physical shortages. So look, the clock here is ticking to try to get [8:05] this situation resolved. Absolutely is. That's for sure. Take a look at that number right now. [8:09] It's good to see you, Matt. Thank you so much.