Auto Club: Monthly Gas Price Average Turns Upward

(LOS ANGELES, Jan. 11, 2006) — The average price of a gallon of gasoline in Southern California reversed course and climbed nearly seven cents in the past month as higher oil prices and the winter refinery maintenance season contributed to upward pressure on retail prices, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California’s monthly Fuel Gauge Report.

The Southern California January average price for regular self-serve gasoline is $2.357, which is up 6.8 cents from a Dec. 20, 2005 average of $2.289.

"Crude oil prices have been creeping up in recent days and traders are anticipating a decline in inventory due to refineries reducing production to perform annual maintenance,” said Auto Club spokesperson Carol Thorp. “Opinion is split on the short-term direction of gasoline prices. Some analysts think oil is overpriced because there is sufficient inventory, while others believe this is the early beginning of a spring run-up in prices.”

Statewide, the average price for January is $2.360, up 11 cents from $2.250 in December. The all-time record high of $3.054 was set on Sept. 9, 2005. The lowest average price in Southern California is in La Habra, where regular is selling for $2.225. Blythe reports the region’s highest average price at $2.559.

Nationally, the average price is $2.322, up from $2.210 in December. The state with the lowest gas price average is Utah at $2.088. The nation’s highest average price is in Hawaii, where regular gasoline is selling for an average of $2.695.

In Southern California, the averages for regular and premium grades of gasoline are listed below:

County/City	Regular gas 1-10-06	Regular gas 12-20-05	Premium gas 1-10-06	Premium gas 12-20-05

Imperial County
El Centro	2.474	2.326	2.449	2.464

Inyo County
Bishop	2.397	2.479	2.749	2.679

Kern County
Bakersfield	2.332	2.247	2.409	2.457
Ridgecrest	2.399	2.459	2.443	2.661

Los Angeles County
Alhambra	2.280	2.201	2.556	2.369
Arcadia	2.360	2.265	2.432	2.339
Burbank	2.300	2.248	2.299	2.342
Culver City	2.426	2.342	2.479	2.249
Glendale	2.290	2.241	2.479	2.426
Glendora	2.279	2.219	2.559	2.469
Inglewood	2.308	2.215	2.399	2.419
Lancaster	2.332	2.244	2.428	2.259
Long Beach	2.306	2.220	2.500	2.371
Los Angeles	2.344	2.276	2.518	2.444
Manhattan Beach	2.327	2.262	2.588	2.339
Montebello	2.310	2.218	2.189	2.159
Santa Clarita	2.312	2.223	2.499	2.469
Santa Monica	2.376	2.327	2.759	2.569
Van Nuys	2.276	2.223	2.395	2.366
Whittier	2.278	2.213	2.297	2.219
Woodland Hills	2.346	2.294	2.519	2.474

Orange County
Anaheim	2.262	2.182	2.334	2.250
Fullerton	2.227	2.125	2.342	2.209
Huntington Beach	2.243	2.136	2.432	2.330
La Habra	2.225	2.114	2.419	2.319
Laguna Beach	2.419	2.350	2.635	2.599
Newport Beach	2.348	2.276	2.565	2.479
San Clemente	2.414	2.344	2.487	2.514
Tustin	2.333	2.276	2.559	2.439

Riverside County
Blythe	2.559	2.575	2.599	2.599
Hemet	2.373	2.284	2.309	2.364
Palm Springs	2.359	2.399	2.603	2.646
Riverside	2.304	2.238	2.507	2.407

San Bernardino County
Redlands	2.277	2.172	2.556	2.399
San Bernardino	2.318	2.265	2.370	2.239
Victorville	2.332	2.269	2.306	2.203

San Diego County
Chula Vista	2.394	2.271	2.591	2.628
Del Mar	2.466	2.322	2.649	2.469
Escondido	2.336	2.247	2.588	2.472
Oceanside	2.394	2.336	2.699	2.554
San Diego	2.392	2.301	2.684	2.614

San Luis Obispo County
San Luis Obispo	2.488	2.398	2.724	2.631

Santa Barbara County
Lompoc	2.481	2.411	2.757	2.684
Santa Barbara	2.492	2.414	2.506	2.486
Santa Maria	2.488	2.422	2.526	2.399

Tulare County
Porterville	2.419	2.399	2.505	2.489
Visalia	2.385	2.329	2.633	2.552

Ventura County
Ventura	2.349	2.276	2.402	2.313

So. Calif. Avg.	2.357	2.289	2.505	2.434

The Auto Club’s Fuel Gauge Report is based on data gathered from monitoring fuel transactions at 2,800 Southern California gas stations. Oil Price Information Service — the nation’s most comprehensive source of petroleum pricing information, provides the data. Editors, for regional average daily fuel prices nationwide, please go to www.fuelgaugereport.com.

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