With Mideast unrest fueling a surge in oil prices, premium gas surpassed the $4-a-gallon mark at Portola Valley Fuel in Portola Valley.
Nationally, regular-grade gas prices average $3.39 a gallon, up 25 cents in the past week or so, reports the New York Times. Prices peaked around $4 a gallon back in the summer of 2008.
In California, gasoline demand last November -- the most recent month for which figures are available -- rose 2.6 percent, according to the Board of Equalization. Californians used 1.20 billion gallons of gasoline compared to 1.17 billion gallons in November 2009.
The Board of Equalization monitor gasoline consumption through tax receipts paid by fuel distributors.
