California has seen nearly four consecutive weeks of gas price declines — but Bay Area drivers are still paying close to $2 more per gallon than the national average, a gap that has nothing to do with the Strait of Hormuz.

A U.S.-Iran deal to reopen a critical oil shipping lane has pushed crude prices down and handed Californians their longest stretch of pump relief in months. But structural factors baked into the state's fuel market — including steep excise taxes, environmental surcharge programs, and a shrinking refinery base — mean that even as global oil flows ease, San Francisco remains one of the most expensive places in the country to fill a tank.

The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in California fell 16 cents in the past week to $5.64, AAA reported Thursday, extending what has become the state's longest sustained price decline of the year. In San Francisco, the average sits at $5.77 — with Oakland at $5.70 and San Jose at $5.65, according to AAA data.

At the national level, the news is sharper: the average for a gallon of regular is now $3.99, crossing below the $4 threshold for the first time since March 30. That puts San Francisco drivers paying roughly $1.78 more per gallon — a 45 percent premium over the rest of the country — even at the low end of a months-long slide.

The proximate cause of the relief is geopolitical. "Crude oil prices are down as the U.S. and Iran reach a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz," said Doug Johnson, spokesperson for the AAA Mountain West Group, in a statement issued Thursday. "These sliding gas prices are welcome news for millions of people who are preparing to travel for Independence Day in record numbers starting next weekend."

The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20 percent of the world's oil supply transits, had been a flashpoint in tensions with Iran earlier this year. With the waterway reopening, oil markets have responded with weeks of declining crude prices that have filtered down to the pump — though not evenly.

California's stubborn premium over the national average reflects a set of costs that geopolitics can't fix. The state's gasoline excise tax is among the highest in the country. A cap-and-trade program and Low Carbon Fuel Standard add further per-gallon costs that other states don't carry. And California's refinery capacity has been contracting: Valero closed its Benicia refinery earlier this year, one of the last major fuel-producing operations in the state. Fewer local refineries mean less buffer when global supply tightens — and less ability to pass along savings when it loosens.

The result is a market that moves with the rest of the country, just at a higher floor. In April, when The Dissent tracked San Francisco-area prices flirting with $6.50 a gallon, the phrase "not bad" had been redefined downward. At $5.77 today, that redefinition holds.

The timing of the drop does have practical significance for the region. AAA projects 72.2 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home for Independence Day between June 27 and July 5 — a new record, driven largely by car trips. Of those, 61.4 million are expected to drive.

"For many Americans, traveling the week of July 4th is tradition," said Stacey Barber, AAA's Vice President of Travel. "While the overall number of Independence Day travelers appears to be plateauing, we're still expecting record volumes this year."

For Bay Area residents planning to drive to Tahoe, the coast, or family gatherings inland, the past month's price decline offers real savings. A 15-gallon fill-up in San Francisco that cost roughly $97 in April — when prices grazed $6.50 — now runs around $87. That's a meaningful shift.

But with the national average at $3.99 and SF still at $5.77, the structural story hasn't changed: Californians, and Bay Area residents especially, pay a premium for their gasoline that no deal in the Persian Gulf fully addresses. The question isn't just when prices fall — it's why they never fall as far.