Five California Gas Stations Reach Maximum Display Price of $9.999 for Diesel
GasBuddy reported that five gas stations in California have reached the maximum price their systems can display—$9.999 per gallon—for diesel fuel, indicating extreme pricing pressures rather than an actual posted rate. This is likely due to hardware limitations similar to those seen during past oil spikes when older pumps could not show prices beyond a certain digit limit. The current record California average diesel price stands at $7.76 per gallon as of September 9, 2026—a year-over-year increase of $2.81—while the national U.S. diesel price hit an all-time high of $5.97. The surge in prices is attributed to a combination of factors including U.S. refineries operating at near full capacity (98%), supply disruptions from Iran's Strait of Hormuz, and Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil infrastructure. California has seen several outlier pricing events this year, with Chevron stations previously reporting regular gasoline as high as $9.69 per gallon in March 2026.
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Topics: California Chevron gas_prices supply_chain_disruption