Gas Prices Drop, Stop Setting Monthly Records

(LOS ANGELES, June 14, 2011) —Gas prices dropped by a hefty penny-a-day margin throughout the past month and a majority of Southern California communities now have price averages below $4 a gallon, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California monthly Fuel Gauge Report. It’s the first month since January that Southern California gas prices have not set a new monthly record.

The Southern California June average price for regular unleaded self-serve gasoline is $3.961, 32 cents lower than the May average of $4.281 and 88 cents higher than last year’s June Fuel Gauge price of $3.085.

The statewide average price of $3.936 is also 32 cents lower than the May average of $4.261 and 85 cents higher than last year’s June Fuel Gauge statewide price average of $3.081. The lowest-priced gas in California can be found in Marysville, with an average of $3.783, while the surveyed California city with the highest price is Eureka at $4.166. Among surveyed Southern California cities, the lowest price average can be found in Chula Vista at $3.862 and the highest gas price average is in Laguna Beach at $4.115.

 

Nationally, the June average price of $3.696 is 26 cents lower than the May average of $3.951. Alaska has the highest average price among U.S. states at $4.244. South Carolina has the lowest state average price at $3.427.  

“It’s been a rough first half of the year for Southland drivers who grew accustomed to paying steady gas prices between $2.90 and $3.20 a gallon throughout most of 2010,” said Auto Club spokesperson Jeffrey Spring. “The new Auto Club Summer Travel Poll shows that 77 percent of Southland residents say that high gas prices have affected their overall budgets, up from 64 percent in March.”

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