As U.S. prices for diesel fuel surge to all-time highs, some California pumps literally can’t price their diesel any higher—maxing out the display at $9.999 per gallon.
Fuel-tracking firm GasBuddy reported Thursday that a small handful of California fueling stations hiked their retail diesel up to the maximum display pricing as the state’s overall diesel average hit $7.91 per gallon.
GasBuddy said it had confirmed that the $9.999 price was on displays at pumps in the San Diego suburb of Serra Mesa on Wednesday, and that it was investigating reports in other locations. Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, cautioned that some pumps could simply be out of fuel. He noted that it is practice for some fueling stations to list “$9.999” to warn drivers away when diesel has run dry temporarily.
But what is clear is that several stations in California are pricing well above $9 per gallon.
On a national level, the U.S. average for diesel surpassed $6 a gallon this week for the first time ever. De Haan said the national diesel average could realistically rise to $7 per gallon in the weeks ahead. “There are really no signs of any improvement,” he told Fortune. “There are more signs of escalation. We’re headed in the wrong direction.”
