Gas prices in California are the highest in the nation at $6

SALINAS, Calif. (KION) -- The average price in California is now over 6 dollars a gallon!
As of Thursday, the average price for a gallon of gas in California is up $6.03.

"I would say I was surprised because I thought it was going to go down again," said Carloa Nicholes who lives in Salinas.

In the past month, gas has gone up about 60 cents per gallon.

According to AAA, the average price per gallon in Salinas went up about 20 cents.

"Well it's impacting me a lot, from one day to the next it went up a lot," said Mariel Hernandez who lives in Salinas.

Hernandez says she's tired of constantly seeing the prices at gas stations going up.

"I'm having to make a lot of cuts, in everything, in bills, in food, I make a lot of cuts in all the aspects," said Hernandez.

She says that means having to save to be able to commute.

According to a professor from CSUMB, oil prices are going up as a result of cutbacks on production in Saudi Arabia and Russia. China reported increased economic activity, too.

As for what happened locally, "the 40 cent jump overnight is due to local supply and demand conditions, in my opinion, but I have not seen any reports pinpointing the exact cause. Markets determine prices."

Monterey County's average price per gallon is $5.91. According to Gas Buddy, the cheapest price per gallon you will find in the county is in Salinas with the cheapest price per gallon going for $5.19.