(KERO) — It's no secret that gas prices are still hurting the wallets of countless Californians. But one San Diego analyst predicts those prices could drop slightly for the state.
Patrick de Haan is the head petroleum analyst at GasBuddy. He says that while the amount of oil being released over the next six months is not huge compared to our national consumption it is enough to help fill the gap left by the Russian oil ban.
He says he expects to see a drop in prices in the coming weeks and that given the pandemic anything that can reduce financial stress for Californians is a good thing.
"It's the psychological effect of fear. It's a very profound and strong emotion and that's the way the market reacts to uncertainty. We're still in the middle of the pandemic. We're hoping we're coming out of it, but there's been a tremendous amount of supply chain issues that have held back U.S. oil production. That's part of the problem."
De Haan also adds that a big source of frustration for Californians are the high state gas taxes.
