NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – As gas prices across the nation drop or hold steady, it’s a mixed bag for California motorists as half the major metro areas show a slight increase in prices and half show a slight decrease.

State gas prices are up $0.08 in one week, at $3.91 per gallon of unleaded regular gasoline, according to the AAA Northern California monthly gas survey.

Northern California’s average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is $3.88, that’s $0.03 cents cheaper than the state average, and an increase of $0.02 since last month’s AAA report on August 13, 2013.

For perspective, gas prices today are $0.26 less expensive than California’s average price on this date last year. Among all 50 states, California has the third highest state average price for regular unleaded gasoline. Hawaii is the highest at $4.33 per gallon.

“Plentiful supplies, weaker demand, the anticipated change to cheaper winter-blend gasoline in mid-September and a relatively mild hurricane season are likely to lower gas prices through the fall, ” said Cynthia Harris, AAA Northern California spokesperson. “However, the possibility always remains that escalating violence in the Middle East, hurricanes or unexpected disruptions to supplies or distribution could send prices higher.”

The national average price per gallon of regular gasoline is $3.56, the same price as last month’s report. This price is $0.03 lower than a week ago and $0.26 lower than a year ago.

The only states with prices over the $4 mark are Alaska and Hawaii. Gasoline prices have held at a consistent mark of $3 and over per gallon. The last day the national average price was below the $3 mark was on Dec. 21, 2010.

Nationally, retail gasoline prices have stayed within a narrow $0.20 range since March. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil, however, has surged more than 25 percent from a 2013 low of $86.68 on April 17 to a multi-year high of $110.53 last Friday.

At the close of formal trading on the NYMEX yesterday, WTI settled $1.01 lower at $109.52. This is the 47th consecutive settlement above $100 per barrel.

The least expensive average price in Northern California can be found in Stockton where regular unleaded gasoline is $3.76 per gallon.

Of all the metro areas in Northern California, where gas prices are tracked by AAA, Eureka has the highest average price at $4.06.

The highest average price of gas tracked by AAA in the nation is in Hawaii. The price there is $4.33 per gallon. The lowest price, at $3.33 per gallon, can be found in Mississippi and South Carolina.