Californians resigned as petrol prices skyrocket

Some say they are willing to pay the extra cost after seeing the images of war

A man refuels his car at a Shell gas station in Los Angeles, California. EPA

Californians filling up their cars on Friday winced at the spiralling cost of petrol, but largely shrugged as they have long dealt with the highest prices in the US.

California drivers are paying an average of more than $1.34 per litre, said the American Automobile Association (AAA), up more than a third from a year ago, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine sends world oil prices rocketing.

“I'm not really into politics or anything like that, but now that this thing is going on between Russia and Ukraine, it's just that sad,” driver Mike Hernandez told AFP.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of neighbouring Ukraine has sent financial markets into meltdown.

Prices for crude oil — the raw material for petrol — have been hit hard and are up well above $110 a barrel, with players fretting about the impact on Russian supplies, as sanctions choke Moscow off from the global economy.

While all countries have access to the same petrol, subsidies or taxes imposed locally mean the ultimate cost to consumers varies wildly.

For example, in oil-producing Nigeria, which subsidises fuel, the official price is 40 cents per litre.

In Hong Kong, drivers were already paying $2.50 per litre in 2021, Economist Intelligence Unit reported.

On average, Americans pay about $1 per litre, the AAA said, and even California's $1.34 per litre is well below the prices paid by Europeans.

A Ukrainian serviceman stands near captured Russian tanks, one painted in the colours of the Ukrainian national flag and the other marked with the letter 'Z' in the north of the Kharkiv region, Ukraine. Reuters

Russian military vehicles with the letter 'Z' painted on them. Reuters

French Air Force jets patrol airspace over Poland. Nicolas Tucat / AFP

The patrol is part of Nato's surveillance system. Photo by Nicolas Tucat / AFP

The German-flagged 'Seacod' oil tanker moored at Birkenhead Docks near the Stanlow Oil Refinery in the UK.

A woman holds the hand of a child as they flee Ukraine. AP Photo / Markus Schreiber

A young woman clutches a doll as she crosses the border in Medyka, Poland. AP Photo / Markus Schreiber

A woman weeps after finding a friend at the border crossing in Medyka. AP Photo / Markus Schreiber

People walk with their belongings as they flee Ukraine. AP Photo / Markus Schreiber

Ukrainian refugees arrive at Berlin central station, Germany, from Poland on March 4. EPA / Filip Singer

Russian troops entered Ukraine on February 24, prompting the country's president to declare martial law and triggering a series of announcements by western countries to impose severe economic sanctions on Russia. EPA / Filip Singer

Military vessels docked at the military harbour of Constanta, Romania, on March 4. Daniel Mihailescu / AFP

A child plays with a pigeon during a protest in San Jose, Costa Rica, against the Russian invasion in Ukraine. Ezequiel Becerra / AFP

Ukrainian citizens in San Jose, Costa Rica, protest against the Russian invasion in Ukraine on March 4. Ezequiel Becerra / AFP

People fleeing Ukraine wait to board a bus in Palanca Village, Moldova. EPA / Dumitru Doru

Ukrainians living in Britain join a protest at Trafalgar Square, London. EPA / Andy Rain

Ludmila Shkarupa, 73, from Ukraine, sits on a chair wrapping herself with a sleeping bag to avoid the cold at the border crossing in Medyka, Poland. AP

A view shows a thermal power plant destroyed by shelling amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the town of Okhtyrka in the Sumy region. Reuters

People fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine use mobile devices in a temporary refugee centre located at a local track-and-field athletics stadium in Chisinau, Moldova. Reuters

A local resident walks past the remains of a house of culture following a night air raid in the village of Byshiv, 40 kilometres west of Kyiv, Ukraine. AP

A member of the Ukrainian military guards an evacuation train of women and children who fled fighting in Bucha and Irpin. Getty Images

A member of the Ukrainian military gives instructions to women and children that fled fighting in Bucha and Irpin before boarding an evacuation train to Kyiv after heavy fighting overnight forced many to leave their homes. Getty Images

A person demonstrates outside the Russian embassy in London following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Reuters

The Danish rescue group Falck A/S has donated 30 ambulances to Ukraine and neighbouring countries, where they will be used by local emergency services. AFP

An aerial view of the remains of the local house of culture following a night air raid in the village of Byshiv, 40 kilometres west of Kyiv, Ukraine. AP

People fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine rest in a temporary refugee centre located at a local track-and-field athletics stadium in Chisinau, Moldova. Reuters

Ukrainian Oleg, who decided to remain in Irpin, comforts his son, Maksim, and his wife, Yana, before the arrival of an evacuation train to the city of Kyiv. EPA

Yevghen Zbormyrsky, 49, runs in front of his burning house after being shelled in the city of Irpin, outside Kyiv. AFP

People remove personal belongings from a burning house after being shelled in Irpin. AFP

Medical workers tend to a Ukrainian serviceman wounded during the fighting with Russian troops near the Ukrainian capital, in a hospital in Kyiv. AFP

A mother of a wounded Ukrainian serviceman waits outside his ward in a hospital in Kyiv. AFP

Refugees from Ukraine arrive at an assistance point organised in the sports hall of a primary school in Lubycza Krolewska in Poland. EPA

A member of Ukraine's Territorial Defence Forces at a checkpoint in Kyiv. Reuters

People carry their belongings past the debris of last week's combat in Kyiv. AFP

Shelves in a supermarket stand empty in Bila Tserkva, Ukraine. Reuters

War refugees from Ukraine at the assistance point organised at the Torwar sports hall in Warsaw, Poland. EPA

Ukrainian servicemen, wounded during the fighting with Russian troops near the Ukrainian capital, rest outside a hospital in Kyiv. AFP

A 3-year-old boy watches cartoons on a tablet while his mother sews military vests for the Ukrainian army in the western city of Lviv. AFP

A woman's shock as she stands in front of a house burning after being shelled in Irpin, outside Kyiv. AFP

People fleeing from Ukraine queue to board on a bus at the border crossing in Medyka, Poland. AP

Ukrainian refugees are tested for Covid-19 in a reception centre in Vienna, Austria. AFP

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg pose with foreign ministers after a meeting at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. Reuters

People who fled Ukraine wait for a bus to take them to the train station in Przemysl, at the border crossing in Medyka, Poland. AP Photo

The extraordinary meeting of Nato ministers of foreign affairs about Russian aggression in Ukraine at Nato headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. EPA

Messages in support of Ukraine on a board in the Ukrainian pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai. AFP

Firefighters at a warehouse that caught fire after shelling in the village of Chaiky in the Kyiv region. Reuters

The wreckage of a missile at a bus terminal in Kyiv. Reuters

A crater in front of a house damaged by shelling in the village of Hatne. Reuters

The damaged administrative building of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Enerhodar, a city in the Zaporizhzhia region. Reuters

A bright object lands on the grounds of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Enerhodar, Ukraine, during heavy shelling by Russian forces. AP

Zlata, 3, with her face painted in the colours of the Ukrainian flag, stands on the Romanian side of the border with Ukraine after fleeing the country. AP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends an interview with foreign media in Kyiv. Reuters

Ukrainian artillerymen maintain their position in the Luhansk region. AFP

Women and children try to board a train bound for Lviv, at a station in Kyiv. AP

US soldiers on patrol near a military camp in Arlamow, Poland, near the border with Ukraine. AFP

A woman and child look out the window of a train at a station in Kyiv. AP

A descendant of Ukrainian immigrants attends Mass at a Ukrainian Orthodox church in Canoas, Brazil. Reuters

Boxes of donations destined for Ukraine at the St Michael's Ukrainian Catholic Church in Montreal, Canada. AP

Firefighters battle a blaze at a damaged building in the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv after a Russian air raid. AP

A woman in Frankfurt, Germany, attends a protest against Russia's military offensive in Ukraine. AFP

“It's expensive but it's always been more expensive here in California, so I guess we're used to it,” said driver Harry Lee, as he fuelled up on the way to work in Los Angeles on Friday.

“I'll be happy when it goes down but so far it doesn't impact me too much.

“My cousin, who drives for Uber here in LA, is complaining a lot though. I guess it can be hard on him if gas remains at this level for too long.”

California's relatively high petrol prices are the result of state taxes as well as stricter refining rules that require specific fuel formulas intended to reduce air pollution in the hot summer months.

While many drivers have grumbled about seeing pump prices rise almost daily, some say they are prepared to put up with the extra cost because of the pictures of the war in Ukraine they are seeing on the news.

“I would rather have high gas prices here than an authoritarian regime in the Ukraine,” said Los Angeles resident Jacqueline St-Anne.

“If we have to suffer with a little bit of inflation and gas prices for a while to assure that such a wonderful country as Ukraine has an opportunity to develop its democracy, we should do that.”

For others, there is a simple solution to paying through the nose.

“I just bought a Tesla,” said Matthew Reynl.

“That's my solution to the gas prices going up.”

Skid Row in Los Angeles, California, is dotted with plenty of street art, some of it ironic. Photo: Karen Borter

A Skid Row resident has seen better days. Photo: Jessica Jewell Lanier

A homeless veteran bundles up for a winter in Los Angeles. An encampment outside the VA Hospital in Brentwood was recently bulldozed. Photo: Gilbert Mercier

Fire consumed a vacant commercial building a block from the Venice Beach Boardwalk and adjacent to a homeless encampment that was later cleared. Photo: Los Angeles Fire Department

A homeless man in Sherman Oaks, a Los Angeles suburb, takes a rest on the sidewalk. Photo: Gilbert Mercier

Los Angeles artist and university professor Christopher Chinn began painting portraits of the city's homeless. This encampment in LA's Echo Park was swept of its 300 residents earlier this year. Holly Aguirre / The National

Christopher Chinn said that documenting the homeless through art is an important part of the city's cultural memory. Holly Aguirre / The National

A homeless man takes a rest at a bus stop outside the Frank Gehry-designed Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles. Holly Aguirre / The National

The face of homelessness in Los Angeles has changed drastically over the years. This woman was calling Skid Row home when this photo was snapped. Photo: V.T. Polywoda

A homeless woman salvages in Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles. Photo: Russ Allison Loar

Homeless residents of Los Angeles can be found in almost every neighbourhood. Photo: Creative Commons

When you're homeless in Venice Beach and on a movie set, they shoot around you. Photo: Gregory Sotir

This couple calls Skid Row in Los Angeles their home. Photo: Russ Allison Loar

This gentleman emigrated to the US from Mexico but could not find reasonably priced housing. Photo: Russ Allison Loar

Skid Row in Los Angeles encompasses a 50-block radius and is home to some 6,000 residents sleeping in the rough. Photo: Russ Allison Loar

It is not uncommon for the homeless in Los Angeles to populate their encampments with possessions from their previously housed lives. Photo: Russ Allison Loar

A group of residents sleep in the rough on the banks of Arcadia's El Monte Water Conservation Park in East Los Angeles County. Photo: Creative Commons

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti attended the opening of the YWCA Greater Los Angeles and Target Acts of Kindness Project, which provides temporary housing to the city's houseless. Photo: Los Angeles Mayor's Office