are getting a little relief from the extreme heat. some 50 million people however remain under heat alerts. from the southern plains to the gulf coast. the northeast is getting a break from those brutal temps for a few days. besides making us all sweat another consequence of the hot weather that we have been seeing, it s driving up gas prices. today s national average has climbed 18 cents to $3.76 per gallon, 20 cents more than a month ago but 54 cents less than a year ago, so think of it as heat increases we need more energy to offset it. steve patterson joins us now from los angeles where gas is once again approaching that $5 a gallon mark, steve, california we know has some of the highest gas prices in the country, how much worse could this get? reporter: it can get worse. especially when you consider
extreme temperatures across the country with millions of americans facing sweltering heat, drivers are now seeing the cost of filling up their gas tanks go up. today the national average for a gallon of regular gas is up 16 cents from just one week ago at $3.76 according to aaa. in california, it s much higher. a gallon of regular costing about $5 on average. joinings us now in los angeles is steve patterson, what s about the recent heat waves that has made the cost of gas go up. reporter: $5 on average in california but as you see over my left shoulder it can be much, much higher and los angeles isn t the worst place, some places are averaging $6 a gallon which is just ridiculous to think about and before we get to the heat we have to talk about things reporters normally say this time of year, the height of
optimism that china will ease covid restrictions. stock index futures up a bit. the major average is snapping three days in the green for all three averages down a little bit. investors will get additional inflation data. october s surprise index. companies pay for wholesale good. retail giants home depot and walmart will release earnings critical. and gas prices fell a penny overnight now $3.76 a gallon. amazon is set to layoff 10,000 employees. corporate jobs are on the cutting block. those working on alexa and retail and human resources divisions. amazon did not respond to cnn s request for comment. joining me now for all of this, cnn s business writer,
target the enemy. todd: back at home, gas prices rising to $3.76. carley: president biden claims his policies are driving prices down, kevin corke joins us with more, kevin issue good morning. kevin: good morning to you, they swear they are making progress, but they don t like it so much when you point out their role in driving up cost of energy in the first place, that is what critics say about president trump s chest bumping, which he did yesterday in miami. president biden: because of actions we are taking, gas prices are down. $3.25, when it was $5 when i took office this summer issue the oil industry is not doing the right thing. one by one, major oil companies reported profit for the last two
quarters. profit so high it is hard to believe. kevin: ah, true nationwide average is $3.76, down from the summer s record high of $5 and a penny a gallon issue but it is also way up from where it was when biden took office when it was just $2.39 at conclusion of the trump administration. the white house wants to direct your focus toward how much better things are now than they were, republicans on capitol hill, don t believe the hype. this from rick scott. biden has shown he is capable and dangerously incompetent to move our country in the right direction. republicans will unleash save and reliable and affordable american energy by reversing course from democrat failed policy and do it on day one.