Gasoline prices pumping back up
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Energy experts say prices may jump between 20 and 40 cents a gallon soon. This follows a wild 54-cent hike in wholesale prices over the past few weeks, thanks to higher crude oil prices, two major refinery fires this month and freezing temperatures back east.
Analysts blame fires at a Valero refinery in Texas and at the Chevron plant in Richmond, coupled with seasonal down times as refineries perform routine maintenance and convert to a summer blend of gas, which is more expensive to produce, to help combat smog. But the spark came from Texas, where an oil pipeline to Arizona isn’t delivering because of the Valero fire, adding more pressure on refiners in California to pick up the slack.
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