California gas prices jump to record high

The average price of gasoline in California is now $5.44 per gallon, up $0.10 from the day before. It's also up $0.76 from just a month ago.

In the Bay Area, prices are far above that. It's not uncommon to see stations charging customers more than $6 a gallon to fuel up.

That's well above the national average of $4.17 per gallon, according to AAA.

The rapid rise in fuel prices has led some consumers to complain of price gouging, But experts say that there is nothing illegal about gas station owners increasing prices as long as they do not coordinate their rates with other businesses.

"It's not illegal to charge high prices in and of itself," said Jim Bushnell, an energy economist at UC Berkeley. "It's illegal to conspire with others to fix prices and do other things to reduce competition."

President Biden is expected to announce a ban on Russian oil imports, which would likely drive prices to new heights in the U.S.