San Francisco gas prices could reach all-time high

The average price for a gallon of gasoline in San Francisco is likely to reach an all-time high this week, inching closer to $5 per gallon, according to an industry expert.  

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Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, told FOX Business that the city is "in a league of its own" due to the fact that California has the nation's highest gasoline taxes on top of the high cost of doing business in the Bay Area.  

Additionally, the "refinery issues that developed early this week due to the deluge of water" are also playing into the cost increases. 

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If oil supply and prices "continue to trend in the wrong direction," drivers may see "closer to an average of $5 per gallon" although the odds of that occurring aren't guaranteed, according to De Haan. 

On Tuesday, De Haan tweeted that prices in the area were already "just 1.2 cents from a new all-time record high" and that San Francisco would be the first city in the U.S. to set a new record high for prices since 2012.  

However, gas prices have been rising nationwide. 

Currently, the average price for a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. is about $3.36, an increase of about 3.8 cents from a week ago, according to GasBuddy, which compiled data from price reports covering more than 150,000 gas stations across the country. 

DRIVERS MAY SEE SOME RELIEF AT THE PUMP, EXPERT SAYS

Prices are up an average of 17.1 cents compared to a month ago and $1.21 per gallon higher than a year ago, according to the data.

"Gas prices continued to soar in a majority of the nation over the last week as oil’s meteoric rise pulls gasoline and other refined product prices higher," De Haan wrote in a blog post. 

However, De Haan noted, "there may be some light at the end of the tunnel" as long as there isn't another jump in the price of oil.